Göteborgs Konserthus University of Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra

George Bizet (1838-1875) L'Arlésienne Suite No. 1 Preludium Menuett Adagietto Carillon Author Alphonse Daudet depicted the countryside and people of exotic Provence. One of his most beloved short stories he called The Girl from Arles, which he expanded into a drama in five acts. The play eventually became an opera by Francesco Cilea (1897), but the stage music composed by Georges Bizet was most appreciated. In total, he contributed 27 short vignettes for a small chamber orchestra of 26 musicians, the Théatre de Vaudeville could not afford more. Bizet himself contributed free piano playing. A few movements were written for choir. The first performance on 1 October 1872 was a complete flop, and the play was closed after 21 performances for half a salon. The author exclaimed: "It was a dazzling fiasco with the most charming music in the world, costumes of silk and velvet, and Opéra-Comique scenery. I left the theater dejected, and with the same laughter that pierced the tragic scenes still in my ears, I resolved to write no more plays." But Bizet believed in his music and was eager to save it, so he immediately compiled four of the pieces into an orchestral suite, while arranging them for large symphony orchestra, retaining the important saxophone part; an exciting, new instrument that until now has been mostly used for experiments. This first suite was premiered six weeks after the stage premiere, and was an immediate success. He did not keep the chronology of the drama, it was more important that the movements create a unity. The plot is very simple but told with psychological depth in a dreamy and poetic way. "His name was Jan. He only had eyes for one - a little girl from Arles, dressed in velvet and lace, whom he had once met in the market place in Arles. At his house - to begin with - the party was not looked upon kindly. It was said that the girl was coquettish and her parents were not from the area, but Jan wanted his girl from Arles at all costs. He said: I will die if I don't get her." These few words capture and summarize the whole story. Everything revolves around her, but the girl from Arles never appears on stage, and he takes his own life when it becomes clear to him that she has another lover. Those who know their Christmas music recognize the Kings' March in the opening movement.

Valses nobles et sentimentales Modéré - Assez lent - Modéré - Assez animé - Presque lent - Assez vif - Moins vif - Epilogue: Lent When Claude Debussy heard Ravel's Valses nobles et sentimentales in 1911 he exclaimed: "He has the finest ear anyone ever had!" Ravel was himself aware that this time he had composed something very special. "The title Noble and sentimental waltzes reveal my intentions to compose a series of waltzes such as, for example Schubert did it," wrote the composer. But there ends the innocent comparison, because these eight pieces are packed with harmonic dynamite, which when it exploded made contemporary listeners mad and upset. You can't compose like this! Debussy had only heard the original piano version, for Ravel did not write the elegant and ingenious orchestral ring until the following year. The music also came to be used for the ballet Adélaïde performed at the Châtelet in Paris on 22 April 1912 with the composer as conductor. Today we have gotten used to the piece's piquant French seasoning and can easily make us fall in love with the scents that the contemporaries were appalled by. The eight movements are played without pause and contains great contrasts in rhythmicity within the three-stroke model of the waltz. The suite ends with an epilogue, a slow, dreamy, surreal waltz where the harmonic refinement reaches its peak. Much later, in 1920, Ravel completed yet another "choreographic poem" with three measures - La Valse.

JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833-1897) Symphony No. 2 in D Op 73 Allegro non troppo Adagio non troppo Allegretto grazioso (Quasi andantino) Allegro con spirito It was not obvious and easy for the early established German composer Johannes Brahms to compose symphonies. He had one foot left in Viennese classicism, was not too interested in changing and modernizing his tonal language and was a great admirer of Beethoven. It is said that he felt his "backpack" as a burden. That there was nothing more to do after his collegues "nine". But Brahms was not reactionary, just extremely concerned with his personal style and technical skill in everything he created. He did not give his works narrative titles, he considered instrumental music to be music and nothing else. Only at the age of 43 - after great success with piano works (solo pieces and the first piano concerto), solo songs and choral compositions (Ein deutsches Requiem and others) and chamber music - did he complete his Symphony No. 1 in 1876, which he worked on for over 20 years. For Symphony No. 2 he needed considerably less time, in the summer of 1877 in the idyllic Pörtschach on the Wörthersee in Austria. Whether this calm and friendly environment inspired him or whether he was in a harmonious phase of life anyway, is not known. However, his second symphony is often referred to as "Brahms' Pastoral Symphony". It is significantly brighter and more optimistic than the first, even though he himself - probably with a twinkle in his eye - wrote to a good friend that it was "the saddest thing he has written". Certainly there are touches of melancholy in this symphony too, especially in the slow second movement, but the key of D major speaks its language and several influences from Ländler and other German and Austrian folk tones give the music a happier and more festive character. The first movement begins with three notes in the cello and bass parts, which recur like a motto throughout the symphony in various instrument combinations and transformations. Two main themes dominate the movement, the first is immediately introduced in horns and strings, the second is very "Brahmic", based on folk music. It bears a strong resemblance to his famous song Wiegenlied. In the second movement, its dreamy and wistful double theme is introduced in the cello and woodwind parts with a dark, moody tone, which dominates the whole movement with breaks for a brighter, faster and more powerful middle section. The third movement has a light and airy intermezzo character and is the movement that most closely gives the symphony its pastoral character with, among other things, a folk woodwind melody to pizzicato in the cello part. The fourth movement is more powerful and glossy with some march-like sections, although it begins seriously, "mysteriously" softly. After a quieter section, the symphony ends jubilantly and life-affirming in a magnificent crescendo.

The core of the orchestra is made up of the students of the 2 year international master's program in symphonic orchestra playing at the University of Gothenburg's School of Theater and Music. The training is unique in its kind and is conducted in collaboration with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and the Gothenburg Opera. The orchestra projects also include students from the bachelor's program in classical music – a 3 year program where the student focuses on chamber music playing and individual development on their instrument. Students from other music colleges are invited to participate in and supplement the orchestra. Each academic year, the University of Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra performs eight orchestral productions. Internationally well-known conductors and soloists are engaged. Recently, Simon Crawford-Phillips, Jurjen Hempel, Vince Mendoza and Daniela Musca have been guests of the orchestra. Among the soloists are pianist Christian Zacharias, cellist Amalie Stalheim and violinist Isabelle van Keulen. The orchestra also collaborates with the opera education at the University of Theater and Music. UGSO is an ambassador for the University of Gothenburg, which supports the concert and tour activities.

In recent years, Lars Kvensler has regularly conducted the University of Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (UGSO). In May 2024, he led an all-evening performance of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet at Stora Teatern in Gothenburg. In autumn 2023, he was conductor and musically responsible for the musical Så som i himmelen at the Royal Theater in Copenhagen. At Gothenburg Opera, Lars Kvensler has conducted Julglitter och Operakaos, Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame and a number of concerts. Since 2011, Lars Kvensler is conductor and artistic director of the Skottårsorkestern, Ronneby. 2008–2016 he was conductor and artistic director of the Liseberg Orchestra. As a conductor, Lars Kvensler has visited the Gothenburg Wind Orchestra, Wermland Opera's orchestra, Orchester de Cannes, Borås Symphony Orchestra, Hemvärnet's Music Choir Gothenburg, Lundby Symphony and the Swedish Navy's Youth Music Choir, Karlskrona. As a violinist, Lars Kvensler was trained in Gothenburg and Budapest and has long been employed in the orchestra of the Gothenburg Opera. He is an active chamber musician in the Bergström Quartet.