The Mighty Sound of Organ and Orchestra

Event has already taken place. Experience the sounds of the magnificent Concert Hall organ with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, conductor Christoph Eschenbach and organist Christian Schmitt.

Concert length: 2 h incl. intermission Scene: Stora salen

370-530 SEK Student 185-265 SEK

Wednesday 19 October 2022 19.30 — Event has already taken place

Recorded for GSOplay
Wednesday 19 October 2022 19.30 — Event has already taken place

Recorded for GSOplay
Thursday 20 October 2022 19.30 — Event has already taken place
Thursday 20 October 2022 19.30 — Event has already taken place

Listen Introduction Programme & Participants

Event has already taken place

Due to a foot injury by an accident this sunday, Christian Schmitt unfortunately has to change the program for the concert with late notice. Barber’s Toccata festiva is replaced by Chorale in A minor by César Franck.

Organist Christian Schmitt handles the cheeky organ part in Poulenc’s concerto with the same skill as in Cesar Franck’s Chorale in A minor – masterfully. In Poulenc’s self-assured and cheeky Organ Concerto, he allows the magnificent sounds to play freely, in an equally serious and derisory manner, in the very style of the French composer himself.

Composer César Franck also has French roots. His music often contains graceful transitions between different keys, a symphonic timbre, counterpoint and a harmonic language that breathes late romanticism with influences from Liszt and Wagner. In the chorale we are about to experience this evening, a hymn runs through the piece as a recurring motif.

This evening’s programme also includes Bruckner’s Symphony No. 1, in which it is possible to discern the familiar characteristics, with chords and reverberations, which remind us of the composer’s earlier career as an organist. His first symphony was in actual fact his third (the previous two were called No. 0 and No. 00!), and it is truly a genuine Bruckner, lighter in step than his later heavier compositions, and a reminder that the composer was once a young man. Even in his earliest symphonies it is possible to discern the familiar characteristics that would gain clearer contours with the passing years.

This sound feast is led with the confident hand of Christoph Eschenbach, former first guest conductor at the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.

Listen

Get to know the classical pieces.

Introduction to the concert

Take a seat in the Great Hall one hour before the concert begins and learn more about the music you will soon experience! You will get the stories behind the music, knowledge of the composers and own reflections about the classical pieces. The introduction last for about 30 minutes, it is free and free seating in the hall. Warm welcome!

Programme

Franck Chorale in A minor, from Three Chorales for Organ 12 min

Poulenc Concerto for organ, strings and timpani 20 min

Intermission 25 min

Bruckner Symphony No. 1 54 min

Anton Bruckner (1824–1896) Symphony No. 1 in C-minor Allegro - Adagio - Scherzo: Lebhaft - Finale: Bewegt, feurig Anton Bruckner actually composed two symphonies before labelling his symphony in C-minor number 1. First he composed a symphony in F-minor, which is now usually referred to as the Study Symphony, or No. 00; this was followed by a symphony in D-minor, which is usually called No. 0. Some researchers say that No. 0 was actually composed after No. 1; he may have actually worked on several major pieces at once. Although it might be difficult to detect the great Bruckner in these early works, in the first numbered symphony he found many of the traits that would ultimately distinguish this magnificent composer. Specifically, this grandiose piece has a run-time of approximately 45 minutes. Bruckner called his first symphony “das kecke Beserl”, which means something akin to “the saucy maid” – words that capture in a nutshell the relaxed, cheerful nature of the introduction, and the courageous force of the scherzo movement. The outer movements are both faster than usual in Bruckner’s coming symphonies, and the finale’s stormy vitality might explain why the composer was surprised later in life to find the works of his youth so bold and daring. But a great deal of what would become typical Bruckner characteristics can also be found here: his incredibly sensitive work with keys and their development; his method of slowly building up energy to a major eruption; the chorale of the conclusion, which becomes a display of horns; and finally, the considerable length of the work. It is a magnificent symphony that was highly regarded by both the era’s leading musical oracle, pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein, as well as conductor Hans von Bülow. But like most of Bruckner’s symphonies, Number 1 also underwent numerous more or less extensive edits. He began composing in 1865 and presented an original version in Linz the following year. Meanwhile, the most commonly heard versions were created in 1877 and 1891. Stig Jacobsson