Göteborgs Konserthus Feel the Passion in Pathétique

Pierre Cochereau (1924-1984) Bolero on a theme by Charles Racquet What kind of bolero is this? Well, the same dance influence that Ravel used in his famous Bolero is recognized in Pierre Cochereau's composition for organ and percussion. The typical ostinato in the snare drum is present, while a melodic loop wanders in and out of dissonant arcs. Pierre Cochereau was a master of improvisation and principal organist of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris from 1955 until his death in 1984. He picked up a theme from one of his predecessors from the 1600s. The 12-minute piece was improvised and recorded in Notre Dame in 1973. In Notre Dame, Pierre Cochereau was among other things responsible for a controversial renovation of the church's grande orgue in the 60s. He had been taken aback if he knew of the great fire that raged around the organ just the other year and covered it in lead-contaminated soot. At tonight's concert it is Cochereu's successor, Olivier Latry, who plays Notre Dame's own bolero in Gothenburg, while the fire restoration in Paris is slowly progressing. Jenny Svensson

Kaija Saariaho (1952-2023) Earth's Shadows (Maan varjot) Shadows fly - Dome - Flowers, ruins, statues Maan varjot is divided into three sets. Organ and orchestra stand side by side as two rich and powerful "instruments" with several common factors that make it easy to create connections between them. But more than the common features, I am interested in the aspects that differentiate the instruments and give them their own special identity. For example, the orchestra has a great flexibility that comes from the ability to create microtonality, glissandos, rich textures with instrumental sounds or delicate multi-layered dynamics. The organ, on the other hand, has the ability to produce rich and highly precise textures controlled by only one musician, as well as long sustained notes without the limitations of breathing or the length of a string stroke. Unlike some other instruments, the organ does not have to struggle to rise above the orchestra; it can do so at any time, effortlessly. But I didn't want to create a duel of decibels, and I don't consider this piece an organ concerto. Rather, it is a work with a prominent solo organ part, some kind of fruitful and inspiring company, where two strong but civilized personalities can coexist without having to fight too much for the place in the sun. The Finnish title Maan varjot -Shadows of the Earth- was inspired by a couple of lines in Shelley's ode to John Keats: "The One remains, the many change and pass; Heaven's light forever shines, Earth's shadows fly" I chose the title in memory of my father. My relationship with the organ may also explain the use of the Finnish language: it was my instrument before I became a full-time composition student. But regardless of my intimate relationship and affection for it, I haven't written much music for the organ. When I came back to it, I returned in my mind to the period when I used to play the organ as a student in Finland. Another important source of inspiration has been Olivier Latry who interprets the organ part. Maan varjot was jointly commissioned by the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Southbank Center and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Kaija Saariaho 2014

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) Symphony No. 6 Pathetique Op 74 Adagio;Allegro non troppo - Allegro con grazia - Allegro molto vivace - Finale:Adagio lamentoso Few symphonies contain as many outbursts of emotion and sudden mood swings as Tchaikovsky's Sixth, with the telling title Pathétique ("passionate suffering"). It reflects his mano-depressive personality, he suffered throughout his life from crises and often struggled with illness and depression. Tchaikovsky's death in Saint Petersburg, just nine days after he conducted the premiere, also gave the work a tragic aura right from the start. It was even said that the music deliberately foreshadowed his own death, which occurred after he drank cholera-tainted water. Even today, musicologists disagree whether it was an accident or a forced suicide, to avoid public scandal as a homosexual. Tchaikovsky was only 53 years old at the time and the most celebrated Russian composer, with a great international reputation. It was a second attempt at a new symphony, and the first sketches became instead the one-movement Third Piano Concerto in E flat major. After overcoming a creative crisis, new ideas began to flow, and he wrote to his nephew, Vladimir Davidov, about the new composition. "It is full of subjective feeling, so much so that I often shed tears. I consider this symphony the best thing I have ever done. In any case, it is the most emotionally profound". Is the sixth symphony really a self-composed requiem? This theory is fueled by the "dark" key of B minor, which stands for great passion and tragedy, and by the unusual structure. The main motif that runs throughout the work consists of a plaintive, descending second interval. The gloomy character of the symphony is clear already in the first movement, with its slow, dark introduction. The second movement is reminiscent of Don José's flower aria from Bizet's opera Carmen, which Tchaikovsky greatly admired. Towards the end of the movement there is a chorale-like funeral march, and even a quote from the Russian Orthodox funeral liturgy. The second movement provides some lightening, and Tchaikovsky wrote it in an elegant 5/4 time signature, which is a fairly common time signature in Russian folk music. The "limping" character makes the movement almost humorous, despite the loving waltz or minuet-like style. In the third movement he returns to the march as an idea, but it begins as a frisky scherzo that gradually unfolds in its full life-affirming power. The fourth movement is the most famous in the symphony, and is partly reminiscent of a mournful requiem. The main theme is characterized by sighing motifs, and at the end the music fades into a low string chord in B minor. Tchaikovsky considered the symphony to be his most important, most personal composition, but the premiere was received cautiously, and Tchaikovsky unfortunately did not experience the work's later triumph. That the symphony has life and death as a running theme can hardly be denied, but whether it is in any way related to Tchaikovsky's own death remains a mystery.

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, Kent Nagano and Gustavo Dudamel. Sten Cranner 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.

Since 2017, Santtu-Matias Rouvali is the chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. He also has a successful international career as a conductor and has been hailed by The Guardian as "the Finnish conductor tradition's senesta stortade påvning man bara muste lysna på". Since 2021, Santtu-Matias Rouvali is also the chief conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. He has toured with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and pianist Hélène Grimaud in Nordic capitals as well as with pianist Alice Sara Ott and percussionist Martin Grubinger in Germany. The years 2013-2022 Santtu-Matias Rouvali was chief conductor and artistic director of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra in Finland. During the 2023-2024 season, Santtu-Matias Rouvali will continue to collaborate with orchestras at the top level throughout Europe and the USA, such as the BBC Proms, the New York Philharmonic and many more. He collaborates with soloists such as Leif Ove Andsnes, Arabella Steinbacher, Nemanja Radulovic, Leonidas Kavakos, Bruce Liu, Alice Sara Ott, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, Vadim Gluzman, Randall Goosby and Vilde Frang. When he is not conducting, he devotes himself to farming and fishing at his farm outside Tampere.

The French organist Olivier Latry is a leading ambassador for his instrument, has guested with leading orchestras under several famous conductors, recorded for major record labels and premiered a large number of works. Appointed principal organist at Notre-Dame in Paris at the age of 23 and organist emeritus of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal in 2012, he explores all imaginable areas of organ music. He appears regularly at venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Philharmonie de Paris, Disney Hall, Davies Hall in San Francisco, Amsterdam's Concertgebouw, Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie, Philadelphia's Verizon Hall, the Leipzig Gewandhaus and Vienna's Musikverein and Konzerthaus, and as a soloist with leading orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony and Orchestre National de France. Olivier Latry was Artist in residence at the Dresdner Philharmonie in 2021-2022 and 2017-2019. In January 2023, he premiered Esa-Pekka Salonen's first organ concert with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre de Paris, conducted by Salonen himself. Other previous premieres include Kaija Saariaho's Earth's Shadows for organ and orchestra with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Orchestre National de Lyon conducted by Kent Nagano in 2014, and Michael Gandolfi's concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2015. His strong hold on the French organ repertoire led him to recorded Olivier Messiaen's complete works for organ for Deutsche Grammophon which he also performed in Paris, London and New York. In March 2019, he began a collaboration with the label La Dolce Volta with the album "Bach to the Future", recorded on the famous organ of Notre Dame with Bach's transcriptions and original works specially adapted to the extraordinary instrument. Olivier Latry has been a guest of the Gothenburg Symphony on several occasions.

Roger Carlsson is principal percussionist in the Gothenburg Symphony and has played in the orchestra since 1982. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Copenhagen, at the National Center for Orchestral Studies in London and at Juilliard. Roger Carlsson has appeared as soloist with several Nordic symphony orchestras. A number of composers have composed music directly for Roger Carlsson, such as Josef Fung, Michael Rosenzweig, Pär Lindgren, Zoltán Gaál, Sven-Eric Johanson and Áskell Másson. As a conductor, Roger Carlsson has participated in concerts with the Gothenburg Symphony, the Gothenburg Symphony Brass Ensemble and the Gothia Ensemble.

Walter Witick was employed by the Gothenburg Symphony in 2023. He was born in 1992 in Karleby, Finland and began his studies as an 8-year-old at the Middle Österbotten Conservatory. In 2007, he began his studies at the Sibelius Academy's youth department and went on to obtain a bachelor's degree at the Amsterdam Conservatory and a master's degree from the Sibelius Academy. Alongside his work in the orchestra, chamber music is close to his heart.