“There is alot more darkness in this piece”

Ryan Bancroft talks about his love for Zemlinksy’s Die Seejungfrau, which he performed with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in September 22 in Gothenburg Concert Hall.

“This is music at its most romantic, its most expressionist, that it can possibly be. And whats interesting about this piece as compared to Disney’s The Little Mermaid, is that there’s a lot more darkness in this piece.”

Ryan Bancroft grew up in Los Angeles and first came to international attention when he won both first prize and the audience prize at the 2018 Malko Conducting Competition. Since then, his career has skyrocketed: in 2019 he was appointed new Principal Conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and after his first visit to Tapiola Sinfonietta, he was offered to become the orchestra’s Artist in Association. He has also had successful collaborations with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. In the 2023-2024 season, 33-year-old Ryan Bancroft takes over as the new chief conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in Stockholm.