Göteborgs Konserthus Roses from Schumann & Strauss

Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) Rosen aus dem Süden Op 388, arr Schönberg "Roses from the South" is a waltz medley taken from the operetta Das Spitzentuch der Königin. The waltz was dedicated to King Umberto I of Italy in 1880 and was performed at the Strauss Orchestra's regular Sunday concerts at the Musikverein in Vienna. To this day, the waltz is one of Johann Strauss's most beloved and is included in both New Year's concerts and Hollywood films. In 1921, Arnold Schönberg made this arrangement for his musical company.

Clara Schumann (1819-1996) Piano Trio g minor Op 17 Allegro moderato Scherzo: Tempo di Menuetto Andante Allegretto Clara Schumann's piano trio was a work by a mature 25-year-old. The trio is filled with memorable melodies and is astonishingly well-suited for the combination of instruments that Tchaikovsky, among others, considered so difficult to master. Considering the composer's small output and compositional experience, it also exudes a certainty and authority that usually characterizes experienced composers. It was Clara Schumann's intention to dedicate the work to Fanny Hensel, who unfortunately died before the honorary title could be awarded. Hensel herself had written a piano trio that year, 1846. The lyrical first movement, Allegro moderato, begins immediately with a melancholy main theme in the violin part that also continues in the second movement. The slow third movement, in three-part ABA form, is carried forward by themes that are prime examples of the noble melody, which despite great beauty lacks flattering tones.

Robert Schumann (1810-1856) Piano Quintet Op 44 Allegro brillante In modo d'una marcia: Un poco largamente Scherzo: Molto vivace Finale: Allegro ma non troppo Robert Schumann wrote his piano quintet in 1842 for his wife, the star pianist Clara. She premiered it in concert on January 8, 1843. The piece came to set the pattern for the piano quintet genre in general, and Schumann's piece has gained a reputation as one of the foremost chamber music works of the 19th century. There is a relationship with a Schubert work, the Piano Trio No. 2, which Schumann admired. Schumann himself cited Beethoven's String Quintet Op. 29 as another decisive impulse. The stroke of genius was to let the piano lead the development with the strings in an accompanying function. After Mendelssohn played the solo part at a private performance in December 1842, he persuaded Schumann to revise the middle movements and add a second trio to the third movement. The quintet subsequently became one of Clara Schumann's masterpieces. What particularly characterizes the piano quintet is the melodic density and swing of the music, where the impulsiveness of the first movement in the C minor theme of the following mourning march darkens and comes to its senses. The light penetrates again in the scherzo with the two contrasting trio parts, the first soft and gentle, the second restlessly elusive, before the whole work is crowned polyphonically with a 52-bar double fugato. The peculiar character of the mourning march in particular was highlighted by Ingmar Bergman as a leitmotif in the film Fanny and Alexander.

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 aboe 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 University of Gothenburg's School of Theater and Music. He plays a cello built in 1707 by David Tecchler, a generous loan from the Järnåker Foundation.

Magnus Fryklund is educated in Copenhagen at the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music. He has been Young Conductor in Residence at the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Conductor in Residence at the Orchester National de Montpellier and house conductor at Malmö Opera. In the 2023-2024 season, he made his debut with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra and Leif Ove Andsnes, at Wermland Opera (both soloist and conductor) and the Royal Opera in Copenhagen. He also competed in the international Malko Competition for young conductors. Magnus Fryklund has conducted Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Gävle Symphony Orchestra, Dalasinfonietta and Concerto Copenhagen. He has participated in masterclasses with Herbert Blomstedt and Kurt Mazur and has been assistant to Michael Jurowski and Philippe Auguin. Magnus Fryklund is very passionate about opera and has, among other things, performed The Marriage of Figaro at Malmö Opera as both conductor and pianist.

Organist Magnus Kjellson is Artistic director of the ensemble Göteborg Baroque. Magnus is educated with a diploma at the University of Theater and Music in Gothenburg and at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam after studying with Rune Wåhlberg, Hans Davidsson and Hans van Nieuwkoop. He is organist in Christinae church (German church) in Gothenburg. 1995–2007 Magnus taught organ interpretation and liturgical organ at the University of Theater and Music in Gothenburg. He is also involved as a guest teacher at international academies and festivals. Magnus Kjellson has toured Europe as organ soloist and ensemble leader and made his solo debut in the USA in 2007. In 2007, the Association for Early Music presented its annual award to Magnus Kjellson for his work with early music and ensemble Göteborg Baroque. The ensemble was in charge of the construction of the unique instrument claviorganum, which could be inaugurated in Gothenburg in 2019.