Göteborgs Konserthus School Concert: Classical hits

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Overture to Le nozze di Figaro The usual Italian overture division was fast-slow-fast, but Mozart's overture to The Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) from 1786 can be characterized as fast-fast-fast. It may seem strange, but Mozart instead works with dynamics: the fast pulse of the strings at the bottom is more or less accentuated, and complementary slow movements in the woodwinds add variety and contrast to the hectic flow. The task of an overture is to create anticipation and tension and to give a foreshadowing of the dramatic action of the opera. Also it can be good for the musicians to get a proper warm-up before the singers come on stage. With the high tempo, Mozart signals joy and comedy, but the darkened tones also let us know that this is an opera buffa with serious elements. The main plot is one of the most common in Mozart's time: The fight between the lord - the count - and the servant, where the latter ultimately draws the longest straw. Once the overture's humming flight has come to an end, the curtain rises and we meet the servant Figaro and his fiancee Susana in the midst of finding the best place for their new bed - they are soon to be married.

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.

Young conductor Bar Avni got a flying start in her career after winning first prize in the 2024 La Maestra competition in Paris, a competition for young female conductors. For two years, she is a scholarship holder at La Maestra Academy. Avni's astute and creative programming combined with her clear conducting style has made a strong impression on a number of orchestras. Since 2021, she is chief conductor of the Bayer Philharmonic and is committed to the promotion of new, young talent. Since his conducting debut in 2016, Avni has worked with orchestras such as the Israel Philharmonic, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and the Hamburg Camerata. In 2024, Avni was a guest with the WDR Funkhaus Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra as an assistant to Barbara Hannigan. In the coming seasons, she conducts the Orchester National de Lille, the Orchester National de Bordeaux, the Hamburg State Youth Orchestra, the WDR Symphony Orchestra, the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Orchester de la Suisse Romande. She also assists Klaus Mäkelä in Paris. Bar Avni is a trained percussionist and studied conducting in Graz and Munich.