Göteborgs Konserthus The Music of the Musicians

Franz Schubert (1797–1828) Octet The year before Franz Schubert wrote his octet, the first signs of his illness came. In some European cities, as many as one in five inhabitants had syphilis, so it was not something extreme in itself that Schubert got it, but at the same time it was more or less a death sentence and Schubert was devastated. Beethoven's nephew Karl wrote in his diary: "People praise Schubert a lot, but it is said that he is hiding". The following year, the year the octet was born, he felt better again and dared to appear in public wearing a wig, as he had been forced to shave off his hair due to a rash. True to his habit, he worked hard, no matter how sick he was, drank a lot of alcohol, and sometimes fell asleep sitting at a table with his glasses on his nose. Not that he took them off when he slept either. The octet took two weeks to write. Then he also managed to both start and finish two string quartets (Rosamunda and Death and the Maiden). Moritz von Schwind, the friend Schubert called his beloved, said that during this time Schubert did not turn away his friends, but also did not lift the pen from the paper, even while talking. The work has six movements, the second movement has the tender tone we associate with Schubert while movement three gallops away like a young horse. In the fourth movement comes a well-known melody. Despite Schubert's illness, the octet is in its sunniest mood. There is hardly the shadow of a concern. KATARINA A KARLSSON

British hornist Alec Frank-Gemmill divides his time between orchestra, chamber music, concerts and conducting. He is known for pushing the boundaries of the horn, both by commissioning new music, making transcriptions of chamber music and through time-honored performances, so-called Historically Informed Performances. Alec appeared on the BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist program 2014–2016 and frequently appeared as soloist with the BBC orchestras, including performances of rarely heard repertoire by Ethel Smyth, Malcolm Arnold and Charles Koechlin. He was first horn player in the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for ten years and took up the corresponding position with the Gothenburg Symphony in 2019. With the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Alec Frank-Gemmill performed concertos by Mozart (on natural horn), Ligeti, Strauss and Schumann. His recording of Strauss's First Horn Concerto was named Record of the Week in the BBC's Record Review. He has also recorded three albums for BIS, thanks to support from the Borletti–Buitoni Foundation. In recent years, Alec has shifted his focus to conducting. He studies with Ulrich Windfuhr and is part of Donato Renzetti's conducting class in Saluzzo, Italy. Alec is the founder and director of Odin Ensemble, a Gothenburg-based group that performs on instruments from around 1900.

Cellist Claes Gunnarsson has toured all over the world as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral musician and teacher. He debuted at a young age as a soloist in Dvorak's Cello Concerto together with the Gothenburg Symphony and was subsequently invited as a solo cellist. A position he has held since 1998. As an active chamber musician, Claes Gunnarsson has collaborated with the violinists Leonidas Kavakos and Nikolaj Znaider, the pianists Christian Zacharias, Peter Jablonski and Hélèn Grimaud, but above all has given concerts for 20 years together with his colleagues Sara Trobäck and Per Lundberg in the piano trio Trio Poseidon. Claes Gunnarsson is also a teacher at the College of Stage and Music at the University of Gothenburg. He plays a cello built in 1707 by David Tecchler, a generous loan from the Järnåker Foundation.