Göteborgs Konserthus Just Brahms: Symphony No. 1

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Haydn Variations Op 56 Like Beethoven, Brahms was very interested in the variation form and stands out as one of the foremost composers in this area. The theme for the Haydn Variations is Chorale St Antoni followed by eight variations and a grand finale. A good friend of Brahms, Karl Ferdinand Pohl, had brought some pieces of unknown music to Brahms in 1870, including field scores or divertimenti for brass band. One partita contained the Antonius Chorale, which Brahms fell in love with and noted in his sketchbook. At first it was believed to have been composed by Haydn, but researchers are increasingly leaning towards the possibility that it was one of Haydn's students, probably Ignatz Pleyel, who composed the partita. The theme is based on a hymn that pilgrims used to sing on St. Anthony's Day. The Brahms work is available in two versions, one for two pianos and one for orchestra. Brahms entered the orchestral version in his catalog first, but it was the piano version that first appeared in print. The duo version was first performed by Brahms himself and Clara Schumann. The orchestral version was first performed in November 1873 by the Vienna Philharmonic under Brahms. LENNART DEHN

The Gothenburg Symphony was formed in 1905 and today consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra's base is Göteborgs Konserthus, the funk gem at Götaplatsen that has gathered music lovers since 1935. Since the 2017-2018 season, Santtu-Matias Rouvali has been Chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony. Since the 2019-2020 season, Barbara Hannigan is Principal guest conductor. We are also a proud partner of Barbara Hannigan's Equilibrium mentoring program focusing on young singers at the start of their careers. Wilhelm Stenhammar was the orchestra's chief conductor from 1907 to 1922. He gave the orchestra a strong Nordic profile and invited colleagues Carl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius to the orchestra. Under the direction of conductor Neeme Järvi from 1982-2004, the orchestra made a series of international tours as well as a hundred disc recordings and established themselves among Europe's leading orchestras. In 1996, the Swedish Riksdag appointed the Gothenburg Symphony as Sweden's National Orchestra. In recent decades, the orchestra has had prominent chief conductors such as Mario Venzago and Gustavo Dudamel, following Kent Nagano as Principal Guest conductor. Anna-Karin Larsson is CEO and artistic director, Gustavo Dudamel honorary conductor and Neeme Järvi chief conductor emeritus. The orchestra's owner is the Västra Götaland Region. The Gothenburg Symphony works regularly with conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Joana Carneiro, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Christian Zacharias and Anja Bihlmaier.

Andrés Orozco-Estrada is designated conductor of the City of Cologne and Gürzenich-Kapellmeister from 2025-2026. He was principal conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra 2014-2021, and the Frankfurter Rundschau wrote: "… it is precisely the combination of dancelike playfulness and an unconditional search for perfection that obviously distinguishes the Colombian's work." He led the Houston Symphony Orchestra as Music Director from 2014-2022 and was also Chief Conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. Orozco-Estrada regularly conducts Europe's leading orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and the Orchestre National de France, as well as major U.S. orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra. He has also conducted concerts and opera performances at the Berlin State Opera and the Salzburg Festival with outstanding success. Guest conducting engagements in the recent seasons has taken him to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the NDR Elbphilharmonieorchester, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic, the Orchestre National de France, and the Israel Philharmonic. Born in Medellín, Colombia, Andrés Orozco-Estrada began his musical education by playing the violin. In 1997 he moved to Vienna, where he was accepted into the conducting class of Uroš Lajovic at the renowned Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst. He has now a professorship in orchestral conducting at the Hochschule.