Vara Konserthus Gothenburg Symphony plays in Vara Konserthus

Bohdana Frolyak (b. 1968) Adagio in memoriam Miroslav Skoryk Ukrainian composer Bohdana Frolyak is a composition teacher at the Lviv Conservatory. She writes for orchestra, choir and chamber ensembles. Both her clarinet concerto (2006) and second symphony (2010) have been awarded national prizes. In 2017, she was awarded the Shevchenko Prize for her musical settings of Taras Schevchenko's poem Humble Soul, Flower, Dream. Adagio in memoriam Miroslav Skoryk was written in 2021 and is dedicated to the memory of the Ukrainian composer Myroslav Skoryk (1938-2020) who was Frolyak's teacher. The piece moves in a romantic mood and style that is interrupted by small dramatic episodes, which, however, do not create the main mood of the piece. At the end of the work, in the harp and vibraphone part, a fragment of a famous melody by Myroslav Skoryk is "hidden", which sounds very delicate and discreet, as a light memory of the genius composer.

SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873-1943) PIANO CONCERTO NO. 3 Allegro ma non troppo Intermezzo: Adagio Finale: Alla breve Sergei Rachmaninoff was a brilliant pianist. From his youth he toured extensively in Europe and later also in the USA and made a series of disc recordings of his own solo pieces for piano as well as of the four piano concertos. He composed a lot of music for the piano: preludes, sonatas, character pieces as well as chamber music and songs. Of the piano concertos, it is the second that has become the most loved, perhaps because it has been so extensively used as film music. But the third concert has also been used in a film context, in the famous Shine from 1996. It is probably the third concerto that is the crowning glory of his compositions for piano. At least he thought so himself! The fact that it may not have been played as often as the other is mostly due to the fact that it is so much more difficult for the soloist to play. In fact, the Third Piano Concerto was dedicated to Josef Hofmann, who considered it so difficult to play that he never performed it in public. Other pianists have also approached the concert with trepidation. While the music is kept in a very strict form, it allows the soloist to shine. It is vital and resilient music that does not for a second fall into routine and public domain. In October 1909, Rachmaninoff embarked on his first American tour. He wrote to his friends back home that he found the United States foreign and unpleasant but full of brilliant symphony orchestras. If he had not felt so strongly the need for dollars that could fulfill the long cherished dream of buying a car, he might never have left his beloved Russia - at least not before the social and political situation became untenable. But to the United States, this inhospitable country, he would ironically return and towards the end of his life settle there for good. But he never got to enjoy himself there. For the American tour in 1909, Rachmaninoff had written a new work during the summer, precisely the third piano concerto, completed on 23 September. Due to many other commitments, he had not had time to practice the solo part, but had to devote the boat trip across the Atlantic to this. He had brought a silent practice keyboard with him. The premiere took place on November 28 at a concert with the newly formed New York Symphony Society conducted by Walter Damrosch. A second performance took place a couple of months later with Gustav Mahler conducting, the only conductor Rachmaninoff put on a par with the foremost conductor of the time, Arthur Nikisch.

Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Symphony No 3 Lebhaft Scherzo Unbeschäftigt Feierlich Lebhaft Schumann's Symphony No. 3, "The Rhenish" from 1850, is his very last. The fourth symphony op 120 was already written in 1841. The third was added after he became orchestra leader in Düsseldorf in 1849 and on a boat excursion to Cologne in the autumn of 1850 was overwhelmed by the magnificence of the Cologne cathedral. Now he wanted to pay tribute to his new home district. But his article Neue Sinfonien für Orchester reveals deeper intentions. As a republican, he was deeply affected by the revolution of 1848 and dreamed of a new German art which, with the ideal of Beethoven (and Shakespeare), led development along new paths. The Cologne Cathedral became such a political and cultural symbol. He probably envisioned rhapsodic/realistic music in the style of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony or Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique, in the "heroic" key of E flat major. The work went quickly. He began sketching on November 7, immediately upon returning from another visit to Cologne, where his piano concerto was performed. A month later, the work was fully sketched and instrumented, intended for his subscription concert in Düsseldorf on 6 February 1851. Immediately afterwards he reworked the score for a concert in Cologne on 25 February, and only then, after a second concert in Düsseldorf on 13 March, did he send it for publication. His five-movement form partly reflects the folk life character of the Pastoral Symphony. A first description spoke of "a healthy, lively piece of Rhenish life" in the first movement, probably shaped by the experiences of the boat trip. According to the same source, the Scherzot has features of a folk festival in the wine harvest, perhaps also experienced from a distance from the boat. The third movement is an idyll, when the Rhine landscape is experienced from one of the many towns along the river. The last two movements are closely related. The fourth was first called "Of the nature of accompanying a festive ceremony". On 12 November 1850, the archbishop of Cologne had been elevated to cardinal, which was celebrated with a large ceremony in the church. The three trombones in the movement can be interpreted as the three dignitaries who performed the act, at which Schumann, however, was not present. The finale mirrors the folk party afterwards.

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.

In 2022 Oksana Lyniv became music director of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna as the first female chief conductor of an Italian opera house. She also became the first female conductor in the history of the Bayreuth Festival with her production of The Flying Dutchman which opened the festival in 2021 and is committed to Bayreuth until 2024. She has performed at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Berlin, Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opéra National de Paris, Oper Frankfurt, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Theater an der Wien and Staatsoper Stuttgart. Oksana Lyniv is very committed to young musical talent and is the founder and chief conductor of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine and has a significant role as a prominent cultural figure in her home country. The 2023-2024 season includes debuts with the Metropolitan Opera, Korean National Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchester Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Oksana Lyniv gained international attention as a finalist in the Gustav Mahler International Conducting Competition and won third prize. 2008-2013 she served as deputy chief conductor at the National Opera in Odessa, Ukraine. 2013-2017 she worked as a musical assistant for Kirill Petrenko at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. In 2014, she made her debut on the European stage as a conductor at the Bavarian State Opera with Mozart's Titus. 2017-2020 she was chief conductor of Graz Opera and Graz Philharmonic. In 2016, Oksana Lyniv co-founded the international classical music festival LvivMozArt in Lviv, Ukraine. In addition, she initiated extensive international research on Franz Xaver Mozart in collaboration with the Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg.

Since his debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 1981, pianist Roland Pöntinen has appeared with major orchestras all over the world. He has worked with conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Jevgenij Svetlanov and Leif Segerstam and played with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and at the BBC Proms. Thanks to an insatiable musical appetite, he has acquired a large repertoire that ranges from Bach to Ligeti. Emphasis is on the 'golden era' of piano literature from the 19th century - including the first half of the 20th century with composers such as Debussy, Busoni, Szymanowski and Rachmaninov. Roland Pöntinen has performed the complete cycles of Beethoven Sonatas and Années de Pèlerinage by Liszt. Composers such as Sven-Erik Bäck, Veli-Matti Puumala, Anders Eliasson and Anders Hillborg have dedicated works to him and in 2007 he premiered Shchedrin's romantic duets together with the composer at the Verbier Festival. As a chamber musician, Roland Pöntinen has worked with prominent artists such as Barbara Hendricks, Janine Jansen, Nobuko Imai, Peter Mattei, Martin Fröst, Zvi Zeitlin, Ulf Wallin, Torleif Thedéen, Håkan Hardenberger, Arve Tellefsen, Christian Lindberg and Nicolai Gedda. Roland Pöntinen's recent performances with orchestras include Rachmaninoff's Paganini Rhapsodies with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Shostakovich's First Piano Concerto with the Orchester de La Suisse Romande, the Schumann Concerto with the Gothenburg Symphony and in 2017 Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic under Sakari Oramo. Roland Pöntinen is also active as a composer and his latest work, L'Éléphant Rose for trumpet and piano, written for Håkan Hardenberger, was premiered at Wigmore Hall in 2016. He has also arranged music by Legrand, Joni Mitchell and Kurt Weill for Hardenberger and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Pöntinen is a member of the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm.