University of Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Jurjen Hempel
Soloist: Isabelle van Cologne, violin
Tonight's soloist is the Dutch violinist Isabelle van Keulen, who has been collaborating with the orchestra regularly since 2018. Isabelle van Keulen is also active as a guest teacher at the classical music educations, within the framework of an artist in residence programme, which is presented with support from the Stena Foundation.
Programme
- Karol Szymanowski: Violin Concerto No. 1 Op. 35 (approx. 25 min)
- Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 7 (approx. 80 min)
1. Langsam - Allegro risoluto, ma non troppo
2. Night music I
3. Scherzo
4. Night Music II
5. Round Finale
Karol Maciej Szymanowski (1882–1937) was a Polish composer and pianist who grew up in the Cherkasy region of present-day Ukraine. At a young age he moved to Warsaw to study at the conservatory, where he later also got a job. His Violin Concerto No. 1 is seen as one of the first modernist works in the format, where he had left his previous romantic tendencies and the traditional tonality behind. Szymanowski composed the concerto in 1916, but it would not be until 1922 before the one-act play was premiered, then in Warsaw.
Gustav Mahler's (1860–1911) Seventh Symphony is sometimes called the Song of the Night (Lied der Nacht) and is written for large orchestra, which also includes some unusual instruments such as cow bells, guitar and mandolin. At the time of the premiere, Mahler's star had fallen in Vienna, and in 1908 it was instead the Czech Philharmonic in Prague that made the first public performance, with the composer himself as conductor.
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