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Mårten Larsson was born in Örebro and trained at the Royal Academy of Music under Alf Nilsson. He has been a leading oboist in Sweden for many years and is solo oboist in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. He has also been a member of the Stockholm Sinfonietta. Mårten Larsson teaches at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama and has released albums with music by Johan Helmich Roman, JS Bach and Keith Jarrett, among others.

Claes Gunnarsson has toured all over the world as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician and teacher. He made an early and acclaimed debut as soloist in Dvorák's Cello Concerto with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Shortly afterwards he was appointed principal cellist of the orchestra, a position he has held since 1999. As soloist, Claes has appeared in some of the world's most prestigious concert halls, including Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, St. Petersburg Philharmonie, Shanghai Symphony Hall, Seoul Arts Center and Singapore Symphony Hall. He has also appeared at leading international festivals such as La Folle Journée in Nantes, Music@Menlo in California, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Affinis in Japan, Yuri Temirkanov's Winter Festival in St. Petersburg and the Qingdao International Cello Festival. Conductors he has collaborated with include Neeme Järvi, Kent Nagano, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Alexander Lazarev, Christian Zacharias and Christopher Warren-Green. As a chamber musician, Claes has collaborated with prominent musicians such as Leonidas Kavakos, Nikolaj Znaider, Christian Zacharias and Hélène Grimaud. Of particular significance is his nearly 25-year collaboration with violinist Sara Trobäck and pianist Per Lundberg in the piano trio Trio Poseidon. The trio has toured extensively both nationally and internationally and made a critically acclaimed recording of Beethoven's Triple Concerto and Brahms' Double Concerto together with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Neeme Järvi for Chandos Records. For Chandos Records, he has also recorded Weinberg's Cello Fantasy and Cello Concerto together with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Thord Svedlund. The recording of the cello concerto was awarded the Diapason d'Or award. He is also represented on BIS Records with the premiere recording of Albert Schnelzer's cello concerto. Claes is regularly invited as a guest solo cellist with, among others, the Oslo Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. In parallel with his concert performances, he is active as a teacher at the Academy of Drama and Music at the University of Gothenburg. Claes plays a cello built in 1707 by David Tecchler, generously on loan from the Järnåker Foundation.

Justyna Jara began playing the violin when she was seven years old. After winning a prize at a competition for young violinists in Gdansk, Poland, she continued her studies in Warsaw with Miroslaw Lawrynowicz. During her studies, she won prizes in several violin competitions. She also recorded Wieniawski's Etudes Caprices Op 10 and 18 for the Acte Préalable record label as a tribute to her teacher. She studied for a year at the Chopin University in Warsaw and then at Juilliard in New York, working with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, often as assistant concertmaster. In 2014, she was appointed second concertmaster of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.

Lisa Ford has been the principal horn player in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra for 30 years. Lisa is an active chamber musician and soloist and a member of the ensemble Gageego!. She is a senior lecturer at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Performing Arts and a mentor in the master's program in symphony orchestra performance, she is a horn teacher and teaches wind and chamber music ensembles. Lisa Ford is educated at the Interlochen Arts Academy. She has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and has a diploma from the Norwegian Academy of Music, NMH. She was previously assistant principal horn player in the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. She is also a certified professional coach.

Justyna Jara began playing the violin when she was seven years old. After winning a prize at a competition for young violinists in Gdansk, Poland, she continued her studies in Warsaw with Miroslaw Lawrynowicz. During her studies, she won prizes in several violin competitions. She also recorded Wieniawski's Etudes Caprices Op 10 and 18 for the Acte Préalable record label as a tribute to her teacher. She studied for a year at the Chopin University in Warsaw and then at Juilliard in New York, working with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, often as assistant concertmaster. In 2014, she was appointed second concertmaster of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.

Claes Gunnarsson has toured all over the world as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician and teacher. He made an early and acclaimed debut as soloist in Dvorák's Cello Concerto with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Shortly afterwards he was appointed principal cellist of the orchestra, a position he has held since 1999. As soloist, Claes has appeared in some of the world's most prestigious concert halls, including Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, St. Petersburg Philharmonie, Shanghai Symphony Hall, Seoul Arts Center and Singapore Symphony Hall. He has also appeared at leading international festivals such as La Folle Journée in Nantes, Music@Menlo in California, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Affinis in Japan, Yuri Temirkanov's Winter Festival in St. Petersburg and the Qingdao International Cello Festival. Conductors he has collaborated with include Neeme Järvi, Kent Nagano, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Alexander Lazarev, Christian Zacharias and Christopher Warren-Green. As a chamber musician, Claes has collaborated with prominent musicians such as Leonidas Kavakos, Nikolaj Znaider, Christian Zacharias and Hélène Grimaud. Of particular significance is his nearly 25-year collaboration with violinist Sara Trobäck and pianist Per Lundberg in the piano trio Trio Poseidon. The trio has toured extensively both nationally and internationally and made a critically acclaimed recording of Beethoven's Triple Concerto and Brahms' Double Concerto together with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Neeme Järvi for Chandos Records. For Chandos Records, he has also recorded Weinberg's Cello Fantasy and Cello Concerto together with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Thord Svedlund. The recording of the cello concerto was awarded the Diapason d'Or award. He is also represented on BIS Records with the premiere recording of Albert Schnelzer's cello concerto. Claes is regularly invited as a guest solo cellist with, among others, the Oslo Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. In parallel with his concert performances, he is active as a teacher at the Academy of Drama and Music at the University of Gothenburg. Claes plays a cello built in 1707 by David Tecchler, generously on loan from the Järnåker Foundation.

Madárdal – String Quartet No 2 was commissioned by Sveriges Radio P2 and written for the Dahlkvist Quartet. The piece is inspired by both Swedish and Hungarian folk songs. Since I am half Swedish and half Hungarian I thought that it would be an interesting way of composing a piece. ”Madárdal” consists of three movements. The first movement (Allegro) is built on fragments from Romany/Hungarian melodies and gestures. The second movement (Adagio) is based on particularily two Swedish folk songs; ”Emigrantvisa” and ”Polska från Medelpad”. In the third and last movement (Allegro/Presto), the Hungarian/Romany and Swedish folk songs meet. Throughout the piece you also may hear both Hungarian and Swedish bird species. ”Madárdal” is the Hungarian word for ”birdsong”, hence the title. Andrea Tarrodi

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.

Birgitta Mannerström-Molin is a choir conductor and singing teacher. She also teaches at the University of Stage and Music in Gothenburg and is involved as a course instructor and choir conductor at national level. She has also been involved in the development of El Sistema in Sweden and is the conductor and artistic advisor for Side by Side by El Sistema, which is performed every year by the Gothenburg Symphony. In 2016, Birgitta Mannerström-Molin was appointed Children's and Youth Choir leader of the Year. She is also a teacher at Hvitfeldtska Musikgymnasiet and project leader for young people at Sweden's Church Song Association.

Urban Claesson is principal clarinetist in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since 1995. He joined the orchestra in 1986 and has appeared as a soloist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra on around 20 occasions, including Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Sinfonia concertante for wind instruments, Bruch's Concerto for Clarinet, Viola and Orchestra and Corigliano's Clarinet Concerto. As a chamber musician, he has appeared with the Amadeus Quartet and the Britten Quartet, among others. Urban Claesson is also active as a teacher at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama.

Mårten Larsson was born in Örebro and trained at the Royal Academy of Music under Alf Nilsson. He has been a leading oboist in Sweden for many years and is solo oboist in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. He has also been a member of the Stockholm Sinfonietta. Mårten Larsson teaches at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama and has released albums with music by Johan Helmich Roman, JS Bach and Keith Jarrett, among others.

Cellist Johan Stern is principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and teaches cello, chamber music and orchestral playing at the Academy of Music and Performing Arts. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm and at the Juilliard School in New York. As a member of Gageego!, the Gothenburg Ensemble for New Music, he has premiered several solo works by our leading Nordic composers. Johan Stern has participated in a number of international festivals and as a soloist and chamber musician has performed with figures such as Bobby McFerrin, Edward Gardner, Petri Sakari, Kristjan Järvi, Daniel Müller-Schott and Levon Chilingirian. During his studies at Juilliard, he had the privilege of collaborating with several internationally renowned musical figures, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma and composers Elliott Carter and John Cage.

Since his debut with the Royal Swedish Philharmonic in 1981, pianist Roland Pöntinen has appeared with major orchestras all over the world, including the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and at the BBC Proms. His repertoire ranges from Bach to Ligeti, with an emphasis on the “golden era” of piano literature with composers such as Debussy, Busoni, Szymanowski and Rachmaninov. He has performed the complete cycles of Beethoven’s sonatas and Liszt’s Années de Pèlerinage. Composers such as Sven-Erik Bäck, Veli-Matti Puumala, Anders Eliasson and Anders Hillborg have dedicated works to him, and in 2007 he premiered Shchedrin’s Romantic Duets with the composer at the Verbier Festival. As a chamber musician, Roland Pöntinen has worked with prominent artists such as Barbara Hendricks, Janine Jansen, Nobuko Imai, Peter Mattei, Martin Fröst, Christian Lindberg and Nicolai Gedda. He has played Rachmaninoff's Paganini Rhapsodies with the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Shostakovich's First Piano Concerto with the Orchestre de La Suisse Romande, the Schumann Concerto with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphony in 2017 with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra under Sakari Oramo. Roland Pöntinen is also active as a composer.

Lisa Ford has been the principal horn player in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra for 30 years. Lisa is an active chamber musician and soloist and a member of the ensemble Gageego!. She is a senior lecturer at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Performing Arts and a mentor in the master's program in symphony orchestra performance, she is a horn teacher and teaches wind and chamber music ensembles. Lisa Ford is educated at the Interlochen Arts Academy. She has been a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and has a diploma from the Norwegian Academy of Music, NMH. She was previously assistant principal horn player in the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. She is also a certified professional coach.

Urban Claesson is principal clarinetist in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since 1995. He joined the orchestra in 1986 and has appeared as a soloist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra on around 20 occasions, including Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Sinfonia concertante for wind instruments, Bruch's Concerto for Clarinet, Viola and Orchestra and Corigliano's Clarinet Concerto. As a chamber musician, he has appeared with the Amadeus Quartet and the Britten Quartet, among others. Urban Claesson is also active as a teacher at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama.

Urban Claesson is principal clarinetist in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since 1995. He joined the orchestra in 1986 and has appeared as a soloist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra on around 20 occasions, including Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Sinfonia concertante for wind instruments, Bruch's Concerto for Clarinet, Viola and Orchestra and Corigliano's Clarinet Concerto. As a chamber musician, he has appeared with the Amadeus Quartet and the Britten Quartet, among others. Urban Claesson is also active as a teacher at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama.

Urban Claesson is principal clarinetist in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since 1995. He joined the orchestra in 1986 and has appeared as a soloist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra on around 20 occasions, including Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Sinfonia concertante for wind instruments, Bruch's Concerto for Clarinet, Viola and Orchestra and Corigliano's Clarinet Concerto. As a chamber musician, he has appeared with the Amadeus Quartet and the Britten Quartet, among others. Urban Claesson is also active as a teacher at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama.

Urban Claesson is principal clarinetist in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since 1995. He joined the orchestra in 1986 and has appeared as a soloist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra on around 20 occasions, including Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Sinfonia concertante for wind instruments, Bruch's Concerto for Clarinet, Viola and Orchestra and Corigliano's Clarinet Concerto. As a chamber musician, he has appeared with the Amadeus Quartet and the Britten Quartet, among others. Urban Claesson is also active as a teacher at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama.

Urban Claesson is principal clarinetist in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since 1995. He joined the orchestra in 1986 and has appeared as a soloist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra on around 20 occasions, including Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Sinfonia concertante for wind instruments, Bruch's Concerto for Clarinet, Viola and Orchestra and Corigliano's Clarinet Concerto. As a chamber musician, he has appeared with the Amadeus Quartet and the Britten Quartet, among others. Urban Claesson is also active as a teacher at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama.

Urban Claesson is principal clarinetist in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since 1995. He joined the orchestra in 1986 and has appeared as a soloist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra on around 20 occasions, including Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Sinfonia concertante for wind instruments, Bruch's Concerto for Clarinet, Viola and Orchestra and Corigliano's Clarinet Concerto. As a chamber musician, he has appeared with the Amadeus Quartet and the Britten Quartet, among others. Urban Claesson is also active as a teacher at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama.

Urban Claesson is principal clarinetist in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since 1995. He joined the orchestra in 1986 and has appeared as a soloist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra on around 20 occasions, including Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Sinfonia concertante for wind instruments, Bruch's Concerto for Clarinet, Viola and Orchestra and Corigliano's Clarinet Concerto. As a chamber musician, he has appeared with the Amadeus Quartet and the Britten Quartet, among others. Urban Claesson is also active as a teacher at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama.

Urban Claesson is principal clarinetist in the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since 1995. He joined the orchestra in 1986 and has appeared as a soloist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra on around 20 occasions, including Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Sinfonia concertante for wind instruments, Bruch's Concerto for Clarinet, Viola and Orchestra and Corigliano's Clarinet Concerto. As a chamber musician, he has appeared with the Amadeus Quartet and the Britten Quartet, among others. Urban Claesson is also active as a teacher at the Gothenburg Academy of Music and Drama.

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.