Here you can find almost anything about all the concerts Gothenburg Symphony has played over the years, both in the Concert Hall and on tour.
Search for conductors, soloists and other artists that has played together with us. Or search for composers and music that we have played. And filter on specific seasons. Guesting orchestras and ensembles are also included in the archive.
The result is presented by season.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Santtu-Matias Rouvali was Chief Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony in the years 2017-2025. Since 2021, he is Chief conductor of Philharmonia Orchestra and also honorary conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra back home in Finland.
He collaborates with top-level orchestras and soloists across Europe, including the Münchner Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. He also works with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
International soloists with whom Rouvali plays are Bruce Liu, Lisa Batiashvili, Seong-Jin Cho, Nicola Benedetti, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Nemanja Radulovic, Stephen Hough, Augustin Hadelich, Nikolai Lugansky, Christian Tetzlaff, Gil Shaham, Baiba Skride, Ava Bahari and Arabella Steinbacher.
During his long tenure with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Rouvali performed over 100 concerts in the Great Hall and made over 30 recordings and live concerts for the digital concert hall GSOplay. His collaboration with the orchestra included successful tours in the Nordic countries, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as a five-volume Sibelius recording with the Alpha Classics label. The releases have been acclaimed with awards such as the Gramophone Editor's Choice award, Choc de Classica, the prestigious French Diapason d'Or 'Découverte', and the Radio Classiques 'TROPHÉE'. Santtu-Matias Rouvali also has an extensive record label with Philharmonia Records.
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.
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 was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Emilia Hoving has emerged as one of the most exciting young Finnish conductors today. In 2024-2025 she returned to prominent orchestras such as the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Swedish Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, the Gothenburg Symphony and the Adelaide Symphony. She also made her debuts with the Strasbourg Philharmonic, the Belgian National, the Trondheim Symphony, the Stavanger Symphony, the Royal Scottish National, the Orquesta Castilla y Leon, the Tasmanian Symphony and the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic (at the Concertgebouw).
Other highlights of the past season were the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the BBC Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, the Tonkünstler Orchestra Wien, the Tenerife Symphony and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Emilia Hoving conducted the final concert at Side by Side in 2025 and 2024 and the school concert Bubblor at the Gothenburg Symphony in 2023. In the summer of 2022, she made her Tokyo debut at Suntory Hall as conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony and her UK debut at the Philharmonia, where she has now become a regular guest. Hoving has conducted many works by living (especially Finnish) composers and gave the Australian premiere of Missy Mazzoli's Procession at the Adelaide Festival.
Hoving studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Sakari Oramo, Atso Almila and Jorma Panula. She received the Finnish Critics' Prize in 2021 as best newcomer and was an assistant to Hannu Lintu at Finnish Radio (2019) and to Mikko Franck at Radio France (2020-22).
Juan Zurutuza is a pianist trained in Mexico and the Netherlands. He studied with Rian de Waal at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague from 2001-2008. He has played solo and chamber music concerts with members of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Scandinavia, Europe and North America. Since 2022, Juan Zurutuza is pianist in the Gothenburg Symphony.
He is currently studying with pianist Robert Durso, thanks to several scholarships received from Göteborgs Symfoniker Friend Association, the Marianne & Ary Paley Scholarship Fund, the Eduard Magnus Music Fund and the Mary von Sydows Donation Fund.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Violinist Pekka Kuusisto is known for his artistic freedom and innovative approach to repertoire. He is the artistic director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and, since 2023, principal guest conductor and artistic partner of the Helsinki Philharmonic. Season 2025-2026 he joined as Principal Guest Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. He has also been appointed as chief conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra from 2028.
In season 2024-2025 Kuusisto appeared with Helsinki Philharmonic and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra as soloist and conductor, play-conducted the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He conducted the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lahti Sinfonia and Ostrobothninan Symphony as well as appeared soloist with Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the NSO Dublin, Brussels Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon with André de Ridder, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Kuusisto continues his collaboration with Gabriel Kahane as Council following successful tours in the US and Australia.
Kuusisto gets involved across the entire artistic spectrum. He has collaborated with musicians such as Hauschka & Kosminen, Dutch neurologist Erik Scherder, electro pioneer Brian Crabtree, jazz trumpeter Arve Henriksen, juggler Jay Gilligan, accordionist Dermot Dunne and folk artist Sam Amidon.
In 2024, Kuusisto was featured in two releases on Sony – Bryce Dessner’s album SOLOS where he performed composer’s Ornament and Crime for solo violin, and on Anna Clyne’s and The Knights album Shorthand performing Prince of Clouds for two violins. In 2023, Kuusisto released an album for BIS as conductor in Jaakko Kuusisto's symphony, and one for Alba as violinist with Malin Broman and the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra with works by Tarrodi, Byström, Larsson and Zinovjev. Composers who have written violin concertos for Kuusisto include Nico Muhly, Sebastian Fagerlund and Bryce Dessner.
Pekka Kuusisto plays an Antonio Stradivarius from 1695 on generous loan from Anders Sveaas Charitable Trust.
This season Ida Falk Winland has made her role debut as Madame Butterfly at the Gothenburg Opera. She has also visited the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, where she sang the role of Helene in Kasper Holten's production of Manfred Trojahn's Orest. The previous season, she appeared as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Gothenburg Opera and as Violetta in La Traviata at the Royal Opera in Stockholm.
Ida Falk Winland has been associated with the Gothenburg Opera since 2014. Here she has sung Gilda in Rigoletto, Mimì in La Bohème, Ilia in Idomeneo, Adalgisa in Norma, Morgana in Alcina, Cleopatra in Julius Caesar, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, The Countess and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Nedda in Pajazzo and Beate Bella Bravura in Julglitter och Operakaos. Ida Falk Winland has guested at the Glyndebourne Festival in the role of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. She has also performed Così fan tutte at the Opéra National de Paris, The Magic Flute and Xerxes at the Royal Swedish Opera and Peter Grimes at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. She has also appeared at the Helsinki Festival, Opéra National de Lorraine, Covent Garden and at the Internationale Händel–Festspiele in Göttingen.
In 2018, Ida Falk Winland was winner of the Opera Prize for her performance as Adalgisa in the Gothenburg Opera's production of Norma, an award voted for by the readers of the magazine Opera. She is educated at the Royal College of Music and the National Opera Studio in London.
Violinist Pekka Kuusisto is known for his artistic freedom and innovative approach to repertoire. He is the artistic director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and, since 2023, principal guest conductor and artistic partner of the Helsinki Philharmonic. Season 2025-2026 he joined as Principal Guest Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. He has also been appointed as chief conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra from 2028.
In season 2024-2025 Kuusisto appeared with Helsinki Philharmonic and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra as soloist and conductor, play-conducted the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He conducted the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lahti Sinfonia and Ostrobothninan Symphony as well as appeared soloist with Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the NSO Dublin, Brussels Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon with André de Ridder, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Kuusisto continues his collaboration with Gabriel Kahane as Council following successful tours in the US and Australia.
Kuusisto gets involved across the entire artistic spectrum. He has collaborated with musicians such as Hauschka & Kosminen, Dutch neurologist Erik Scherder, electro pioneer Brian Crabtree, jazz trumpeter Arve Henriksen, juggler Jay Gilligan, accordionist Dermot Dunne and folk artist Sam Amidon.
In 2024, Kuusisto was featured in two releases on Sony – Bryce Dessner’s album SOLOS where he performed composer’s Ornament and Crime for solo violin, and on Anna Clyne’s and The Knights album Shorthand performing Prince of Clouds for two violins. In 2023, Kuusisto released an album for BIS as conductor in Jaakko Kuusisto's symphony, and one for Alba as violinist with Malin Broman and the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra with works by Tarrodi, Byström, Larsson and Zinovjev. Composers who have written violin concertos for Kuusisto include Nico Muhly, Sebastian Fagerlund and Bryce Dessner.
Pekka Kuusisto plays an Antonio Stradivarius from 1695 on generous loan from Anders Sveaas Charitable Trust.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Violinist Pekka Kuusisto is known for his artistic freedom and innovative approach to repertoire. He is the artistic director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and, since 2023, principal guest conductor and artistic partner of the Helsinki Philharmonic. Season 2025-2026 he joined as Principal Guest Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. He has also been appointed as chief conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra from 2028.
In season 2024-2025 Kuusisto appeared with Helsinki Philharmonic and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra as soloist and conductor, play-conducted the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He conducted the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lahti Sinfonia and Ostrobothninan Symphony as well as appeared soloist with Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the NSO Dublin, Brussels Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon with André de Ridder, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Kuusisto continues his collaboration with Gabriel Kahane as Council following successful tours in the US and Australia.
Kuusisto gets involved across the entire artistic spectrum. He has collaborated with musicians such as Hauschka & Kosminen, Dutch neurologist Erik Scherder, electro pioneer Brian Crabtree, jazz trumpeter Arve Henriksen, juggler Jay Gilligan, accordionist Dermot Dunne and folk artist Sam Amidon.
In 2024, Kuusisto was featured in two releases on Sony – Bryce Dessner’s album SOLOS where he performed composer’s Ornament and Crime for solo violin, and on Anna Clyne’s and The Knights album Shorthand performing Prince of Clouds for two violins. In 2023, Kuusisto released an album for BIS as conductor in Jaakko Kuusisto's symphony, and one for Alba as violinist with Malin Broman and the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra with works by Tarrodi, Byström, Larsson and Zinovjev. Composers who have written violin concertos for Kuusisto include Nico Muhly, Sebastian Fagerlund and Bryce Dessner.
Pekka Kuusisto plays an Antonio Stradivarius from 1695 on generous loan from Anders Sveaas Charitable Trust.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Violinist Pekka Kuusisto is known for his artistic freedom and innovative approach to repertoire. He is the artistic director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and, since 2023, principal guest conductor and artistic partner of the Helsinki Philharmonic. Season 2025-2026 he joined as Principal Guest Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. He has also been appointed as chief conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra from 2028.
In season 2024-2025 Kuusisto appeared with Helsinki Philharmonic and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra as soloist and conductor, play-conducted the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He conducted the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lahti Sinfonia and Ostrobothninan Symphony as well as appeared soloist with Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the NSO Dublin, Brussels Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lyon with André de Ridder, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra. Kuusisto continues his collaboration with Gabriel Kahane as Council following successful tours in the US and Australia.
Kuusisto gets involved across the entire artistic spectrum. He has collaborated with musicians such as Hauschka & Kosminen, Dutch neurologist Erik Scherder, electro pioneer Brian Crabtree, jazz trumpeter Arve Henriksen, juggler Jay Gilligan, accordionist Dermot Dunne and folk artist Sam Amidon.
In 2024, Kuusisto was featured in two releases on Sony – Bryce Dessner’s album SOLOS where he performed composer’s Ornament and Crime for solo violin, and on Anna Clyne’s and The Knights album Shorthand performing Prince of Clouds for two violins. In 2023, Kuusisto released an album for BIS as conductor in Jaakko Kuusisto's symphony, and one for Alba as violinist with Malin Broman and the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra with works by Tarrodi, Byström, Larsson and Zinovjev. Composers who have written violin concertos for Kuusisto include Nico Muhly, Sebastian Fagerlund and Bryce Dessner.
Pekka Kuusisto plays an Antonio Stradivarius from 1695 on generous loan from Anders Sveaas Charitable Trust.
Richard Wagner (1813-1883)
Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde
The musical language of the opera Tristan und Isolde (1859) is sometimes considered the beginning of musical modernism. Tristan’s harmonic language, filled with linguering and unresolved dissonances, not only realizes the sexual tension between the opera’s two central characters, but also heralds the liberation from the limitations of tonality. The famous “Tristan chord” is an unresolved dissonance, an academic way of saying that it “leads to something”.
The prelude exemplifies Wagner’s forward-looking view of both harmony and the question of musical form. Here Wagner’s Leitmotif technique, i.e. central themes that correspond to characters and ideas, is also developed. Something that became completely self-evident in film music many decades later.
Isolde has just arrived and finds Tristan dead as the famous piece Liebestod (Love's Death) begins. She wants to sink into unconsciousness and finally consummate her love for Tristan by following him into death. The passage builds to a climax when "waves of refreshing winds" begin to envelop Isolde, and again when she imagines dying in "the mighty wave of the world's breath." She sinks everything as the wind floats and dissolves the chord from the prelude.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Renowned Norwegian conductor Tabita Berglund is known for her charisma and inspiring style. She took up the position of Principal Guest Conductor of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for the 2024-2025 season, and in 2025 she became Principal Guest Conductor of the Dresdner Philharmonie. She was previously Principal Guest Conductor of the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra.
Highlights of last season included debuts with the Houston Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Orchestre de chambre de Paris, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra and Lahti Symphony Orchestra. In her first weeks with the Detroit Symphony Orchestras, she gave the American premiere of Anna Clyne's violin concerto Time and Tides with Pekka Kuusisto. She made her Asian debut with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, a debut at the Salzburg Easter Festival with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, a European tour with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, and returned to the Dresdner Philharmonie, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the Orchestre national de Lyon, the Tonkünstler-Orchester Niederösterreich and the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra. In December 2024, she conducted the Norwegian National Ballet in The Nutcracker.
Tabita Berglund collaborates with internationally renowned soloists such as Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Leila Josefowicz, Truls Mørk, Pekka Kuusisto, Cédric Tiberghien, Alexander Malofeev, Camilla Tilling and the Jussen brothers. She graduated in 2019 in orchestral conducting from the Norwegian Academy of Music, where she studied under Professor Ole Kristian Ruud. She originally trained as a cellist and studied to master's level under Truls Mørk.
She made her conducting debut with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in 2024 with music by Helen Grime and Sibelius 7th.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
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.
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 was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
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.
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 was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Santtu-Matias Rouvali was Chief Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony in the years 2017-2025. Since 2021, he is Chief conductor of Philharmonia Orchestra and also honorary conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra back home in Finland.
He collaborates with top-level orchestras and soloists across Europe, including the Münchner Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. He also works with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
International soloists with whom Rouvali plays are Bruce Liu, Lisa Batiashvili, Seong-Jin Cho, Nicola Benedetti, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Nemanja Radulovic, Stephen Hough, Augustin Hadelich, Nikolai Lugansky, Christian Tetzlaff, Gil Shaham, Baiba Skride, Ava Bahari and Arabella Steinbacher.
During his long tenure with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Rouvali performed over 100 concerts in the Great Hall and made over 30 recordings and live concerts for the digital concert hall GSOplay. His collaboration with the orchestra included successful tours in the Nordic countries, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as a five-volume Sibelius recording with the Alpha Classics label. The releases have been acclaimed with awards such as the Gramophone Editor's Choice award, Choc de Classica, the prestigious French Diapason d'Or 'Découverte', and the Radio Classiques 'TROPHÉE'. Santtu-Matias Rouvali also has an extensive record label with Philharmonia Records.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Santtu-Matias Rouvali was Chief Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony in the years 2017-2025. Since 2021, he is Chief conductor of Philharmonia Orchestra and also honorary conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra back home in Finland.
He collaborates with top-level orchestras and soloists across Europe, including the Münchner Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. He also works with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
International soloists with whom Rouvali plays are Bruce Liu, Lisa Batiashvili, Seong-Jin Cho, Nicola Benedetti, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Nemanja Radulovic, Stephen Hough, Augustin Hadelich, Nikolai Lugansky, Christian Tetzlaff, Gil Shaham, Baiba Skride, Ava Bahari and Arabella Steinbacher.
During his long tenure with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Rouvali performed over 100 concerts in the Great Hall and made over 30 recordings and live concerts for the digital concert hall GSOplay. His collaboration with the orchestra included successful tours in the Nordic countries, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as a five-volume Sibelius recording with the Alpha Classics label. The releases have been acclaimed with awards such as the Gramophone Editor's Choice award, Choc de Classica, the prestigious French Diapason d'Or 'Découverte', and the Radio Classiques 'TROPHÉE'. Santtu-Matias Rouvali also has an extensive record label with Philharmonia Records.
The famous intermezzo comes from the mini-opera Cavalleria rusticana (previously called “På Sicilien” in Swedish). It is a jealousy drama that takes place in a small Sicilian village on Easter Sunday.
Pietro Mascagni won an opera competition with Cavalleria rusticana and it became his biggest hit. The rumor must have spread quickly, because the Swedish premiere was held at the Stockholm Opera the same year as the first performance, in December 1890.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
The famous intermezzo comes from the mini-opera Cavalleria rusticana (previously called “På Sicilien” in Swedish). It is a jealousy drama that takes place in a small Sicilian village on Easter Sunday.
Pietro Mascagni won an opera competition with Cavalleria rusticana and it became his biggest hit. The rumor must have spread quickly, because the Swedish premiere was held at the Stockholm Opera the same year as the first performance, in December 1890.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
The famous intermezzo comes from the mini-opera Cavalleria rusticana (previously called “På Sicilien” in Swedish). It is a jealousy drama that takes place in a small Sicilian village on Easter Sunday.
Pietro Mascagni won an opera competition with Cavalleria rusticana and it became his biggest hit. The rumor must have spread quickly, because the Swedish premiere was held at the Stockholm Opera the same year as the first performance, in December 1890.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
The famous intermezzo comes from the mini-opera Cavalleria rusticana (previously called “På Sicilien” in Swedish). It is a jealousy drama that takes place in a small Sicilian village on Easter Sunday.
Pietro Mascagni won an opera competition with Cavalleria rusticana and it became his biggest hit. The rumor must have spread quickly, because the Swedish premiere was held at the Stockholm Opera the same year as the first performance, in December 1890.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
The famous intermezzo comes from the mini-opera Cavalleria rusticana (previously called “På Sicilien” in Swedish). It is a jealousy drama that takes place in a small Sicilian village on Easter Sunday.
Pietro Mascagni won an opera competition with Cavalleria rusticana and it became his biggest hit. The rumor must have spread quickly, because the Swedish premiere was held at the Stockholm Opera the same year as the first performance, in December 1890.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
The famous intermezzo comes from the mini-opera Cavalleria rusticana (previously called “På Sicilien” in Swedish). It is a jealousy drama that takes place in a small Sicilian village on Easter Sunday.
Pietro Mascagni won an opera competition with Cavalleria rusticana and it became his biggest hit. The rumor must have spread quickly, because the Swedish premiere was held at the Stockholm Opera the same year as the first performance, in December 1890.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
The famous intermezzo comes from the mini-opera Cavalleria rusticana (previously called “På Sicilien” in Swedish). It is a jealousy drama that takes place in a small Sicilian village on Easter Sunday.
Pietro Mascagni won an opera competition with Cavalleria rusticana and it became his biggest hit. The rumor must have spread quickly, because the Swedish premiere was held at the Stockholm Opera the same year as the first performance, in December 1890.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
The famous intermezzo comes from the mini-opera Cavalleria rusticana (previously called “På Sicilien” in Swedish). It is a jealousy drama that takes place in a small Sicilian village on Easter Sunday.
Pietro Mascagni won an opera competition with Cavalleria rusticana and it became his biggest hit. The rumor must have spread quickly, because the Swedish premiere was held at the Stockholm Opera the same year as the first performance, in December 1890.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
The famous intermezzo comes from the mini-opera Cavalleria rusticana (previously called “På Sicilien” in Swedish). It is a jealousy drama that takes place in a small Sicilian village on Easter Sunday.
Pietro Mascagni won an opera competition with Cavalleria rusticana and it became his biggest hit. The rumor must have spread quickly, because the Swedish premiere was held at the Stockholm Opera the same year as the first performance, in December 1890.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Also sprach Zarathustra
The music is in no way a musical translation of Nietzsche's controversial theories about the übermensch. Richard Strauss saw the positive sides of the author's message: the demand for freedom, the longing for a better world, the power of action. The descriptions of nature were the most important source of inspiration.
The extensive orchestral poem breaks up into nine sections, whose titles correspond to the names of the chapters in the book (but not always in the same order). Between these there are only three general pauses, the rest is in one go. As a motto he placed Nietzsche's "ode to the sun" with the call that "Too long have we dreamed of music, let us now wake up. We were sleepwalkers, let us now go out into the day..." The whole work begins with the sunrise: after long, grinding and very low C in double basses, double bassoon and organ, the sun breaks out in the notes C, G and C2. This is probably the most brilliant sunrise in the entire history of music, and just like Ligeti's music, it became the motif in the film 2001 – A Space Odyssey.
The following parts have the titles: "About the inhabitants of the afterlife", "About the great longing" and "About the joy and passions", where the oboe intones a mournful melody. It is the dreams of youth that are buried. "The Night Wanderer's Song" is a heartbreaking farewell song where the description of nature returns in a reconciling C major in the basses. In the music, C major represents man and nature, while B major represents the universe - two keys that are very far apart. Neither of them emerges victorious from the battle at the end of the piece.
Stig Jacobsson
Participants
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
The Estonian-born conductor Neeme Järvi is the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra's Principal Conductor Emeritus. He conducts many of the world's most prominent orchestras and works with soloists of the highest class. During his long career, he has made over 450 disc recordings. Under Neeme Järvi's direction from 1982-2004, the Gothenburg Symphony made a series of international tours and made around a hundred disc recordings and established itself among Europe's leading orchestras.
Neeme Järvi became chief conductor of the Residentie Orkest in 2005, artistic director of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra in 2009 and music director of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra in 2005. He has also been artistic director of the Orchester de la Suisse Romande. He holds the titles of Music Director Emeritus of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
Throughout his career, Neeme Järvi has been honored with international honors and awards. In Estonia, these include an honorary doctorate at the Estonian Academy of Music in Tallinn, and the Order of the National Coat of Arms from the President of the Republic of Estonia. He has also received the Commander of the Order of the North Star from King Karl XVI Gustaf.
He most recently guested with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in 2024 at the Hasselblad Concert, which was also recorded for GSOplay and Swedish Radio.
The glory days of the Viennese waltz at the end of the 19th century were pure madness - completely comparable to today's unrestrained club dancing. Swirling around giant ballrooms with thousands of other couples, over and over again, was the great pleasure and enjoyment of the time. The young loved to be swept up in these communal excesses while the opposing side argued that it was harmful and immoral to spin around in this way. But the Viennese waltz could not be stopped - the Strauss family and their successors spread the courage to the rest of Europe, Russia and the USA.
Ravel was born early enough to know the ravages of the Viennese waltz. This familiarity probably inspired him when he began the orchestral piece intended for Diaghilev's Russian ballet. However, he refused. The "choreographic poem" that was finished in 1920 only became a ballet in 1929 when the dancer Ida Rubinstein staged it. The work's working name was Vienna, a city Ravel knew well by the way, but in the end was given an even more stripped-down and concentrated title: La valse, the waltz.
Like the Strauss waltzes, La valse has a slow opening, after which it finds its rhythm and melody and dances away in good old three-bar. But where Strauss keep the music under soft reins and gently slow down at the end to let off their travelers, Ravel does the opposite: the waltz completely explodes, swells over all borders and explodes both tempo and melody. Ravel simply captures the essence of the Viennese waltz - the rapture and total indulgence. An emotional discharge, or for the theorist: music that comments on itself. The ironic Ravel did not deny himself - what is wrong with satisfying different tastes at the same time?
Participants
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Santtu-Matias Rouvali was Chief Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony in the years 2017-2025. Since 2021, he is Chief conductor of Philharmonia Orchestra and also honorary conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra back home in Finland.
He collaborates with top-level orchestras and soloists across Europe, including the Münchner Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. He also works with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
International soloists with whom Rouvali plays are Bruce Liu, Lisa Batiashvili, Seong-Jin Cho, Nicola Benedetti, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Nemanja Radulovic, Stephen Hough, Augustin Hadelich, Nikolai Lugansky, Christian Tetzlaff, Gil Shaham, Baiba Skride, Ava Bahari and Arabella Steinbacher.
During his long tenure with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Rouvali performed over 100 concerts in the Great Hall and made over 30 recordings and live concerts for the digital concert hall GSOplay. His collaboration with the orchestra included successful tours in the Nordic countries, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as a five-volume Sibelius recording with the Alpha Classics label. The releases have been acclaimed with awards such as the Gramophone Editor's Choice award, Choc de Classica, the prestigious French Diapason d'Or 'Découverte', and the Radio Classiques 'TROPHÉE'. Santtu-Matias Rouvali also has an extensive record label with Philharmonia Records.
The glory days of the Viennese waltz at the end of the 19th century were pure madness - completely comparable to today's unrestrained club dancing. Swirling around giant ballrooms with thousands of other couples, over and over again, was the great pleasure and enjoyment of the time. The young loved to be swept up in these communal excesses while the opposing side argued that it was harmful and immoral to spin around in this way. But the Viennese waltz could not be stopped - the Strauss family and their successors spread the courage to the rest of Europe, Russia and the USA.
Ravel was born early enough to know the ravages of the Viennese waltz. This familiarity probably inspired him when he began the orchestral piece intended for Diaghilev's Russian ballet. However, he refused. The "choreographic poem" that was finished in 1920 only became a ballet in 1929 when the dancer Ida Rubinstein staged it. The work's working name was Vienna, a city Ravel knew well by the way, but in the end was given an even more stripped-down and concentrated title: La valse, the waltz.
Like the Strauss waltzes, La valse has a slow opening, after which it finds its rhythm and melody and dances away in good old three-bar. But where Strauss keep the music under soft reins and gently slow down at the end to let off their travelers, Ravel does the opposite: the waltz completely explodes, swells over all borders and explodes both tempo and melody. Ravel simply captures the essence of the Viennese waltz - the rapture and total indulgence. An emotional discharge, or for the theorist: music that comments on itself. The ironic Ravel did not deny himself - what is wrong with satisfying different tastes at the same time?
Participants
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Santtu-Matias Rouvali was Chief Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony in the years 2017-2025. Since 2021, he is Chief conductor of Philharmonia Orchestra and also honorary conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra back home in Finland.
He collaborates with top-level orchestras and soloists across Europe, including the Münchner Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. He also works with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
International soloists with whom Rouvali plays are Bruce Liu, Lisa Batiashvili, Seong-Jin Cho, Nicola Benedetti, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Nemanja Radulovic, Stephen Hough, Augustin Hadelich, Nikolai Lugansky, Christian Tetzlaff, Gil Shaham, Baiba Skride, Ava Bahari and Arabella Steinbacher.
During his long tenure with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Rouvali performed over 100 concerts in the Great Hall and made over 30 recordings and live concerts for the digital concert hall GSOplay. His collaboration with the orchestra included successful tours in the Nordic countries, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as a five-volume Sibelius recording with the Alpha Classics label. The releases have been acclaimed with awards such as the Gramophone Editor's Choice award, Choc de Classica, the prestigious French Diapason d'Or 'Découverte', and the Radio Classiques 'TROPHÉE'. Santtu-Matias Rouvali also has an extensive record label with Philharmonia Records.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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's pioneering work was rewarded with the Polar Muisc Prize 2025. 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.
In the 2024-2025 season with the Gothenburg Symphony she performed the program Americana, which depicts USA in the making, as well as Mozart's Requiem and Berg's Violin Concerto with Veronica Eberle. She performed chamber music by Schönberg, Fauré and Chausson. She also guested 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. In 2026 she 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.
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.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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's pioneering work was rewarded with the Polar Muisc Prize 2025. 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.
In the 2024-2025 season with the Gothenburg Symphony she performed the program Americana, which depicts USA in the making, as well as Mozart's Requiem and Berg's Violin Concerto with Veronica Eberle. She performed chamber music by Schönberg, Fauré and Chausson. She also guested 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. In 2026 she 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.
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.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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's pioneering work was rewarded with the Polar Muisc Prize 2025. 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.
In the 2024-2025 season with the Gothenburg Symphony she performed the program Americana, which depicts USA in the making, as well as Mozart's Requiem and Berg's Violin Concerto with Veronica Eberle. She performed chamber music by Schönberg, Fauré and Chausson. She also guested 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. In 2026 she 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.
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.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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's pioneering work was rewarded with the Polar Muisc Prize 2025. 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.
In the 2024-2025 season with the Gothenburg Symphony she performed the program Americana, which depicts USA in the making, as well as Mozart's Requiem and Berg's Violin Concerto with Veronica Eberle. She performed chamber music by Schönberg, Fauré and Chausson. She also guested 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. In 2026 she 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.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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's pioneering work was rewarded with the Polar Muisc Prize 2025. 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.
In the 2024-2025 season with the Gothenburg Symphony she performed the program Americana, which depicts USA in the making, as well as Mozart's Requiem and Berg's Violin Concerto with Veronica Eberle. She performed chamber music by Schönberg, Fauré and Chausson. She also guested 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. In 2026 she 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.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Santtu-Matias Rouvali was Chief Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony in the years 2017-2025. Since 2021, he is Chief conductor of Philharmonia Orchestra and also honorary conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra back home in Finland.
He collaborates with top-level orchestras and soloists across Europe, including the Münchner Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. He also works with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
International soloists with whom Rouvali plays are Bruce Liu, Lisa Batiashvili, Seong-Jin Cho, Nicola Benedetti, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Nemanja Radulovic, Stephen Hough, Augustin Hadelich, Nikolai Lugansky, Christian Tetzlaff, Gil Shaham, Baiba Skride, Ava Bahari and Arabella Steinbacher.
During his long tenure with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Rouvali performed over 100 concerts in the Great Hall and made over 30 recordings and live concerts for the digital concert hall GSOplay. His collaboration with the orchestra included successful tours in the Nordic countries, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as a five-volume Sibelius recording with the Alpha Classics label. The releases have been acclaimed with awards such as the Gramophone Editor's Choice award, Choc de Classica, the prestigious French Diapason d'Or 'Découverte', and the Radio Classiques 'TROPHÉE'. Santtu-Matias Rouvali also has an extensive record label with Philharmonia Records.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Santtu-Matias Rouvali was Chief Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony in the years 2017-2025. Since 2021, he is Chief conductor of Philharmonia Orchestra and also honorary conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra back home in Finland.
He collaborates with top-level orchestras and soloists across Europe, including the Münchner Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. He also works with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
International soloists with whom Rouvali plays are Bruce Liu, Lisa Batiashvili, Seong-Jin Cho, Nicola Benedetti, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Nemanja Radulovic, Stephen Hough, Augustin Hadelich, Nikolai Lugansky, Christian Tetzlaff, Gil Shaham, Baiba Skride, Ava Bahari and Arabella Steinbacher.
During his long tenure with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Rouvali performed over 100 concerts in the Great Hall and made over 30 recordings and live concerts for the digital concert hall GSOplay. His collaboration with the orchestra included successful tours in the Nordic countries, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as a five-volume Sibelius recording with the Alpha Classics label. The releases have been acclaimed with awards such as the Gramophone Editor's Choice award, Choc de Classica, the prestigious French Diapason d'Or 'Découverte', and the Radio Classiques 'TROPHÉE'. Santtu-Matias Rouvali also has an extensive record label with Philharmonia Records.
The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Gothenburg Concert Hall at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. 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. The title Principal Guest Conductor is shared by Pekka Kuusisto from 2025.
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 Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 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.
Santtu-Matias Rouvali was Chief Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony in the years 2017-2025. Since 2021, he is Chief conductor of Philharmonia Orchestra and also honorary conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra back home in Finland.
He collaborates with top-level orchestras and soloists across Europe, including the Münchner Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Orchester Philharmonique de Radio France, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich. He also works with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic.
International soloists with whom Rouvali plays are Bruce Liu, Lisa Batiashvili, Seong-Jin Cho, Nicola Benedetti, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Nemanja Radulovic, Stephen Hough, Augustin Hadelich, Nikolai Lugansky, Christian Tetzlaff, Gil Shaham, Baiba Skride, Ava Bahari and Arabella Steinbacher.
During his long tenure with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Rouvali performed over 100 concerts in the Great Hall and made over 30 recordings and live concerts for the digital concert hall GSOplay. His collaboration with the orchestra included successful tours in the Nordic countries, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as a five-volume Sibelius recording with the Alpha Classics label. The releases have been acclaimed with awards such as the Gramophone Editor's Choice award, Choc de Classica, the prestigious French Diapason d'Or 'Découverte', and the Radio Classiques 'TROPHÉE'. Santtu-Matias Rouvali also has an extensive record label with Philharmonia Records.