Johannebergskyrkan Summer dreams with Gothenburg Symphony

The theater play Vaknatten takes place during the time of the witch trials and was staged at the Dramatikerstudion in Stockholm in 1945. The script, which reportedly has never been issued, was written by the writer Helge Åkerhielm and the music by Karl-Birger Blomdahl. The music was then compiled for Theater Suite No. 1, where the dreamy Adagio became famous and is included in several Swedish classic collections. Born in Småland, Karl-Birger Blomdahl was a member of the Monday Group and a prominent figure in contemporary Swedish tone art in the 1940s and 50s. He was driven by the group's ideal of seeking away from the romantic heritage and finding new stylistic riches. Blomdahl got ideas from Paul Hindemith as well as from a lively interest in the technical aspects of music making. In 1965, he became head of Sveriges Radio's music department and coordinated Sveriges Radio's symphony orchestra. In the Adagio from 1945, Blomdahl has not yet begun his excursions into twelve-tone country, but rests in the neo-romantic tradition.

Camille Saint-Saëns was extremely productive and he composed music in all genres of the time. He said at one point that it was as natural to him to compose as to an apple tree to bear fruit – and he could happily orchestrate for twelve hours straight. His compositions are characterized by a disarming charm, rich melody and elegance. For the violin, Saint-Saëns composed a lot of music, including three concertos, but he is probably best known for the Introduction and rondo capriccioso from 1863. It is a virtuoso number that, ever since the day Pablo de Sarasate first performed it, has belonged to the great enchanters in the repertoire. The music is dedicated to the Spanish master (as are Saint-Saën's first and third violin concertos) and this also explains why there are some Spanish features in the music. In the introduction, the soloist introduces himself, and as the rondo takes over, a rich flow of musical ideas follows, one more brilliant than the other.

ANTONÍN DVORÁK (1841-1904) Symphony no 8 Op 88 Allegro con brio Adagio Allegretto grazioso Allegro ma non troppo Antonín Dvorák crowned his career by being appointed professor of composition in New York in 1892. He had undeniably had an impressive artistic career: he was born the son of a butcher in the small Bohemian country village of Nelahozeves, and according to tradition would follow in his father's footsteps. Despite all his later successes, he maintained a down-to-earth approach to his life and his art. During the latter part of the 1880s, he worked purposefully with an endeavor that resulted in several widely published works. In addition to a seventh symphony, he wrote the opera Dimitrij and the oratorios Spectre's Bride and St. Ludmila. Eventually he thought he was seeing success and allowed himself to relax in more lyrically intimate works of a smaller format. Then came the second series of Slavic dances, the piano quintet in A major and several songs. A few years before leaving for America, the eighth symphony (sketched 6-23 September, completed 8 November 1889) developed during long walks in the woods and fields. He felt his creative power grow and unite with increasing craftmanship. He felt more secure in his art and with the help of nature his music brightened. The symphony has sometimes been described as "outdoor music", as the composer's thanks for the wonderful gifts of life and nature. He was currently in his country house at Vysoká, where he also engaged in gardening and nature walks. He felt peace and spiritual vitality. The Eighth Symphony is the result of a conscious search for calm and harmony. When the storm sometimes still roars for the sake of contrast, it just blows away the dry leaves and brings fresh air. It is a happy-smiling music, a simple, folk fiddler's music that deviates from the strictly symphonic traditions. He had set out to create a symphony unlike any other. But even though he succeeded in treating his material in new ways, the symphony still has a classically traditional form with movements in sonata and rondo form. The first movement begins with a sonorous cello theme which then recurs twice during the course of the movement; in the introduction to the execution and at the replay. The movement closely follows the sonata form, even though the emotional changes are great. The slow movement is an adagio in C minor which is made up of a string of beautiful episodes. Then follows a both graceful and elastic waltz before the finale again presents a small introduction consisting of a trumpet solo. This solo also reappears a few times, among other things as accompaniment in pianissimo to solo flute and played by trumpets and horns. A truly extroverted coda ends the symphony. On February 2, 1890, this G major symphony was first performed with the composer himself conducting the orchestra of the National Theater in Prague, and he also conducted performances in London and Frankfurt soon after. The symphony would soon conquer the world, and it became, alongside the American-written Ninth Symphony (From the New World), the most beloved of his symphonies. The symphony was dedicated to the "Bohemian Franz Joseph Academy for the Promotion of Art and Literature", in gratitude for Dvorák becoming its honorary member. Stig Jacobsson

The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1905 and currently consists of 109 musicians. The orchestra is based in Gothenburg Concert Hall – a gem of functionalism on Götaplatsen square that has enchanted music lovers since 1935. Wilhelm Stenhammar was the orchestra’s Chief Conductor from 1907 until 1922. He gave the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra a strong Nordic profile and invited his colleagues Carl Nielsen and Jean Sibelius to collaborate with the orchestra. Under the leadership of Chief Conductor Neeme Järvi between 1982 and 2004, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra undertook a number of international tours and made a hundred or so album recordings while establishing itself as one of Europe’s foremost orchestras. In 1997 the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra received the title of the National Orchestra of Sweden. Since season 2017-2018 Santtu-Matias Rouvali is Chief Conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Since season 2019-2020 Barbara Hannigan is Principal Guest Conductor. Christoph Eschenbach was also Principal Guest Conductor of Gothenburg Symphony in the years 2019-2022 – together they formed a strong three-leaf clover consisting of three completely different types of artists. We are also extremely proud to be an official partner of soprano Barbara Hannigan’s mentor initiative Equilibrium, with focus on young singers and musicians who are just beginning their careers. Sten Cranner is the orchestra’s CEO and Artistic Director, while Gustavo Dudamel holds the title of Honorary Conductor and Neeme Järvi that of Principal Conductor Emeritus. Region Västra Götaland is owner of the orchestra. The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra works regularly with conductors such as Herbert Blomstedt, Joana Carneiro, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Christian Zacharias and Anja Bihlmaier.

Anton Holmer has in a short time established himself as one of Sweden's most prominent young conductors. Since autumn 2021, he has been assistant conductor at the Orchester National de Lyon together with chief conductor Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider. The 2022-2023 season included acclaimed debuts with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, with the Orchester National de Metz and with the Wind Symphony of Stockholm. Anton has been a guest on several occasions with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, other collaborations include the Gävle Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, the Dalasinfonietta, the Jönköping Sinfonietta and the Arméns Musikkår. He was awarded the Crusell scholarship for young promising conductors in 2022 and has also received scholarships from the Royal Academy of Music and the Anders Sandrews Foundation. He was a semi-finalist in the Malko Competition for Young Conductors in Copenhagen 2021 and in the Donatella Flick LSO Conducting Competition in London 2018. Anton studied orchestral conducting at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Stuttgart with Prof. Per Borin and has participated in Masterclasses for renowned conductors such as Bernard Haitink and Jorma Panula. He has a background as an organist and received his bachelor's education at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm and the Conservatoire National Supérieure de Lyon. He also has a master's degree in solo organ from the University of Music in Stuttgart.

The violinist Ava Bahari was born in 1996 in Gothenburg. After studying for seven years with Professor Terje Moe Hansen at the School of Music in Oslo, she continued her violin studies with the former concertmaster of the Gothenburg Symphony, Per Enoksson. She has also taken lessons from leading music educators such as Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff and Ana Chumachenko and studied at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin. Ava Bahari's career began at the age of eleven when she won her first competitions. In 2010, she qualified for the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin competition as the only representative from Sweden in the class for young people up to 20 years old. The successes continued when she won the Swedish award Polstjärnepriset in 2012. In 2015, Ava Bahari was a youth grantee at Stenastiftelsen and was able to start her studies in Berlin. In 2021 she won 3rd prize in the prestigious international Paganini competition. Ava Bahari has also competed in the prestigious Carl Nielsen International Competition where she made it to the final round in 2022. In 2013, she appeared in SVT's drama series Molanders, where she played the violinist Yulia. Ava Bahari has also received music and culture scholarships, among others from Sten A Olsson's Foundation for Research and Culture, Royal Society of Science and Knowledge in Gothenburg and the Willinska Foundation. With the Gothenburg Symphony, she made her soloist debut in January 2023 in Schönberg's violin concerto.