Göteborgs Konserthus Mozart’s Requiem

Samuel Barber (1910-1981) Mutations from Bach The 20th century American composer Samuel Barber wrote in all classical genres. Here he has arranged a popular chorale by the master JS Bach. The hymn O Christe du Lamm Gottes is the German church tradition's response to the Agnus Dei; the prayer “Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world". Bach used the psalm several times, including when he updated the St. John's Passion in a second version in 1725. In this way, he allowed the extensive story of Jesus' death and suffering to end in humility before the greatness of God. Samuel Barber's Mutations from Bach was first published in 1968 for brass ensemble and timpani. Barber sets the psalm melody at the beginning and "mutates" it from its original form into several contrasting episodes, which finally return to the original psalm melody.

ALBAN BERG (1885-1935) Violin Concerto "To the Memory of an Angel" Andante. Allegretto Allegro. Adagio Alban Berg's violin concerto has eluded many analysts. It is not structured according to a specific system or any definite principle. The overall artistic vision had to guide the design. In January 1935, Alban Berg received an order for a violin concerto from the American violinist Louis Krasner. The composer was then busy orchestrating the opera Lulu. On April 22, however, a tragedy occurred in the friendship circle. The 18-year-old Manon Gropius, daughter of Gustav Mahler's widow Alma and her second husband Walther Gropius - famous functionalist architect - died of polio. Berg immediately stopped work on Lulu and began the violin concerto as a tribute to Manon Gropius. Hence the subtitle. The concert was completed in four months, which was unusually fast for Berg. The first movement is basically slow and rhythmically floating with a rhythmic, Länder-like folk song as a contrast. The second movement begins lively but gradually becomes calmer, like a search for reconciliation, and it is reached in a 17th-century chorale by Rudolf Ahle singing the praises of eternity - here no one fears death. In this section, Berg skillfully imitates an archaic harmonium with four clarinets. He took the melody from the Bach cantata O Ewigkeit du Donnerwort (BWV 60). In the final bars, the violin part rises to stratospheric heights, but carefully and calmly, without worry.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Requiem d minor K. 626 Introitus - Kyrie - Sequence - Offertorium - Sanctus - Benedictus - Agnus dei - Communion Eight movements, a mysterious visitor and a hastily deceased composer. Rarely has a work been more mythologized than Mozart's Requiem in D minor, K. 626. A requiem is a Catholic death mass, which is set to music after the texts of the Latin service. On a hot summer day, a stranger knocks on the door. He claims to represent a prominent man who wants to order a requiem mass by Mozart on one condition – the identity of the customer must remain anonymous. A curious Mozart throws himself obsessively into the work, unaware that his time is running out. He works continuously for several months as his health gradually deteriorates. On December 5, 1791, Mozart passed away, only 35 years old. He then had time to compose only the first movement (Introitus) in its entirety, while he left detailed sketches of the next three movements (Kyrie, Sequentia, Offertorium). The work was later completed by Franz Xaver Süssmayr, with the permission of Mozart's widow Constanze. Mozart's constant presence in contemporary culture is a fact, and his requiem appears in films such as Eyes Wide Shut and The Big Lebowski and television series such as The Crown and Peaky Blinders. In the Oscar-winning blockbuster Amadeus from 1984, the rivalry between Mozart and the Italian composer Antonio Salieri is depicted. A disguised Salieri orders a requiem mass from Mozart, hoping that he will work himself to death. But we still don't have an answer to what Mozart's and Salieri's relationship actually looked like.

The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Göteborgs Konserthus, the funk gem at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. Since the 2017-2018 season, Santtu-Matias Rouvali has been Chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony. Since the 2019-2020 season, Barbara Hannigan is Principal guest conductor. We are also a proud partner of Barbara Hannigan's Equilibrium mentoring program focusing on young singers at the start of their careers. Wilhelm Stenhammar was the orchestra's chief conductor from 1907 to 1922. He gave the orchestra a strong Nordic profile and invited colleagues Carl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius to the orchestra. Under the direction of conductor Neeme Järvi from 1982-2004, the orchestra made a series of international tours as well as a hundred disc recordings and established themselves among Europe's leading orchestras. In 1996, the Swedish Riksdag appointed the Gothenburg Symphony as Sweden's National Orchestra. In recent decades, the orchestra has had prominent chief conductors such as Mario Venzago and Gustavo Dudamel, following Kent Nagano as Principal Guest conductor. Anna-Karin Larsson is CEO and artistic director, Gustavo Dudamel honorary conductor and Neeme Järvi chief conductor emeritus. The orchestra's owner is the Västra Götaland Region. The Gothenburg Symphony works regularly with conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Joana Carneiro, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Christian Zacharias and Anja Bihlmaier.

Soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan is Principal Guest Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony since 2019. Embodying music with an unparalleled dramatic sensibility, Barbara Hannigan is an artist at the forefront of creation. Her artistic colleagues include John Zorn, Krszysztof Warlikowski, Simon Rattle, Sasha Waltz, Kent Nagano, Vladimir Jurowski, Andreas Kriegenburg, Andris Nelsons, Esa Pekka Salonen, Christoph Marthaler, Antonio Pappano, Katie Mitchell, and Kirill Petrenko. The late conductor and pianist Reinbert de Leeuw has been an extraordinary influence and inspiration on her development as a musician. The Grammy Award winning Canadian musician has shown a profound commitment to the music of our time and has given the world première performances of nearly 100 new creations. Hannigan has collaborated extensively with composers including Boulez, Zorn, Dutilleux, Ligeti, di Castri, Stockhausen, Khayam, Sciarrino, Barry, Dusapin, Dean, Benjamin and Abrahamsen. A passionate musician of unique and courageous choices, Hannigan is renowned for creating innovative orchestral programs, combining new and older repertoire. In recent years she has been conducting world class orchestras including the Concertgebouw and Cleveland Orchestras, Montreal Symphony, Rome's Accademmia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, has ongoing relationships with festivals including Aix en Provence and Spoleto, and has had starring soprano roles on opera stages including London's Covent Garden, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Paris Opera's Palais Garnier, New York's Lincoln Center, and the opera houses of Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. The past few seasons have brought a new presentation of Poulenc's opera La Voix Humaine, and recent world premieres include Golfam Khayam's I am not a tale to be told with Iceland Symphony Orchestra, John Zorn's Split the Lark and Star Catcher, Zosha di Castri's In the Half Light with the Toronto and Montreal Symphony Orchestras, new works by Sandström and Sciarrino, and a project with pianists Katia and Marielle Labeque inspired by the life and music of Hildegard von Bingen with new music from David Chalmin and Bryce Dessner. The 2024-2025 season brings return conducting engagements to Gothenburg Symphony, London Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony, l'Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne and Kollegium Musicum WInterthur. She holds several principal guest and associate artist positions, and in 2026 will take the helm of Iceland Symphony Orchestra as their chief conductor and artistic director. Barbara’s commitment to the younger generation of musicians led her to create the mentoring initiatives Equilibrium Young Artists (2017), and Momentum: our Future Now (2020), both initiatives offering both guidance and performing opportunities to young professional artists. She was recently named the Reinbert de Leeuw Professor of Music at London's Royal Academy of Music and has been visiting professor at the Juilliard School in New York. On record, Barbara Hannigan’s fruitful relationship with Alpha Classics began in 2017 with the release of Crazy Girl Crazy, winning a Grammy and a Juno. More critically-acclaimed recordings followed, including Vienna: fin de siècle with pianist Reinbert de Leeuw, La Passione featuring works by Nono, Haydn and Grisey and Infinite Voyage, joining her colleagues of the Emerson String Quartet. In 2024 she released the ecstatic vocal works of Messiaen with pianist Bertrand Chamayou and a live recording of John Zorn’s compositions with pianist Stephen Gosling. Barbara Hannigan resides in Finistère, on the northwest coast of France.

German Veronika Eberle is a successful violinist with orchestras and festivals all over the world. At the age of 18, she made her debut with Sir Simon Rattle in a performance of Beethoven's violin concerto with the Berliner Philharmoniker. Since then, her orchestral collaborations have included the London Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Montreal Symphony, Munich Philharmonic and Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin. Later highlights include the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchester National de Lille, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and a tour with the London Symphony Orchestra. She has recently completed a number of chamber music projects including performances at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival with Sol Gabetta, Antoine Tamestit and Schubertiade, with Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih among others. Veronika Eberle plays the Dragonetti Stradivarius violin from 1700, made possible by a generous loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. She also plays a Ries Stradivarius from 1693, which is on loan from the Reinhold Würth Musikstiftung GmbH.

The Swedish soprano Karolina Bengtsson participates in the soloist ensemble at Oper Frankfurt. She has done a variety of roles, including Papagena and Pamina in The Magic Flute, Isaura in Mercadante's Francesca da Rimini, Belisa in Wolfgang Fortner's In seinem Garten, and The Rooster and the Nutcracker in The Cunning Little Vixen. Karolina Bengtsson studied at Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium in Copenhagen, as well as at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, and completed her master's degree in opera singing under the direction of Barbara Bonney. In 2021 she made her debut at the Oper Frankfurt, and shortly afterwards appeared as Clotilde in Norma, Frasquita in Carmen, Second Woman in Dido and Aeneas and Sister Osmina in Sister Angelica. Since then she has collaborated with conductors such as Benjamin Reiners, Daniel Geiss and Andreas Spering. Karolina Bengtsson was awarded in 2020 with the first prize the Golden Victoria at the major international singing competition Debut International Singing Competition in Weikersheim. In the same year, she was awarded the Prize Beethoven Lieder during the Rheinsberg International Singing Competition. In the summer of 2022, Karolina Bengtsson won the Best Young Artist award at the international singing competition in Nuremberg.

Estonian mezzo-soprano Tuuri Dede received her master's degree from the Sibelius Academy in 2016, and previously studied at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theater and the Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi in Milan. She is best known for her performances of Handel's Messiah, Judas Maccabeus and La Resurrezione; Bach's Magnificat and Mass in B minor; Mendelssohn's Lobgesang; Mozart's Requiem; Pergolesi's Stabat Mater; Rossini's Petite messe solennelle and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. Tuuri Dede has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic, the Gothenburg Symphony, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and the Estonian Music and Theater Academy Symphony Orchestra. She has collaborated with conductors such as Barbara Hannigan, Olari Elts, Peter Spissky, Kaspar Mänd and Markus Lehtinen. Tuuri Dede won first prize at the international competition Voice of the Sea in 2017. In 2016, she was awarded first prize at the Mart Saar Competition.

James Way has quickly gained international recognition for his versatile voice and stage presence. His passion for baroque music took him to Les Arts Florissants and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and he quickly became sought after as a soloist with conductors such as William Christie, Rene Jacobs, Harry Bicket and Trevor Pinnock. James Way is a sought-after Handel interpreter, and his performances of Messiah have been praised with orchestras such as the Handel & Haydn Society Boston, Les Arts Florissants, the Freiburger Barockorchester and the Dunedin Consort. A selection of his performances include Flute in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Son in Laurent Pelly's production of Les Mamelles de Tiresias (winner of Best New Opera Production at the Opera Awards 2022), Lechmere in Owen Wingrave for Grange Park Opera, as well as a number of performances of Stravinsky's Pulcinella with orchestras such as the Gothenburg Symphony, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Copenhagen Philharmonic. James is a laureate of William Christie's Les Arts Florissant's 'Jardin des Voix' and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment's Rising Stars young artist programme, and was awarded an Independent Opera Voice Fellowship. He recently completed a degree in Performing Arts Medicine at University College London, which gives him the opportunity to research the health and psychology of performers.

Erik Rosenius is a member of the soloist ensemble at the Royal Opera. He has previously been part of the soloist ensemble at the Gothenburg Opera and before that was involved in the international opera studio at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin 2018-2020. He is also a member of Barbara Hannigan's initiative, Equilibrium Young Artists. Since 2014, he has a bachelor's degree in classical singing from Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm and in 2017 he graduated from the Academy of Opera in Stockholm. Erik Rosenius has appeared in performances such as Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg under Daniel Barenboim and Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier under Zubin Mehta at the Staatsoper Berlin. He also appeared in Stravinsky's The Rake’s Progress with Barbara Hannigan in Gothenburg and on tour in Europe. Erik Rosenius is often hired as an oratorio singer and has sung Mozart's Requiem with the Munich Philharmonic under Barbara Hannigan and the same work with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra under Trevor Pinnock. He has received several scholarships, including the Royal Academy of Music's scholarship, the Rosenborg-Gehrman scholarship, Joel Berglund's scholarship and the Royal Opera's scholarship.

The choir was founded in 1917 by cousins Elsa and Wilhelm Stenhammar. Elsa Stenhammar was one of the driving forces in turn-of-the-century choir life in Gothenburg and became the choir's first rehearser. On December 8, 1917, the choir debuted in Beethoven's Choir Fantasy with Wilhelm Stenhammar as soloist at the grand piano. As the country's oldest symphonic choir, they were able to celebrate their 100th anniversary in 2017 with a big celebratory concert where Mozart and Brahms as well as Stenhammar, Elfrida Andrée and Björn & Benny were on the program. The Gothenburg Symphony Choir is a non-profit association that is linked to the Gothenburg Symphony. The choir participates in concerts and performances under both the orchestra's and its own auspices. The music is mixed and the repertoire extensive. The Gothenburg Symphony Choir has participated in concerts in, among other places, the Royal Albert Hall and Canterbury Cathedral in England, as well as participated with the Gothenburg Symphony in the annual music festival in the Canary Islands and on a tour to China.

The Gothenburg Symphony Vocal Ensemble (GSVE) was formed in 2016 and consists of 12 professional singers. The ensemble works both as part of the Gothenburg Symphony Choir in major symphonic works performed together with the Gothenburg Symphony, and as an independent ensemble under the direction of Katie Thomas. GSVE is a group of experienced and versatile singers, who perform varied programs and explore a wide repertoire, from medieval music to newly commissioned works. The ensemble has previously collaborated with, among others, the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra and the Barockakademin Göteborgs Symfoniker and performs regular vocal programs both in Gothenburg's Concert Hall and around the Västra Götaland region.