Video streamed event and on demand: Alfvén and Nilsson

2022 celebrates the 150-year anniversary of Hugo Alfvén’s birth. With titles like Midsommarvaka (Midsummer Vigil), En Skärgårdssägen (A Legend from the Archipelago) and Dalarapsodi (Dala Rhapsody), he is one of Sweden’s most beloved composers.

In his second symphony, which was his major breakthrough, the scene shifts from sunny morning to twilight and stormy night. Alfvén often used elements of folk music in his work, but in this passionate symphony, he has turned his ear out towards Europe. 

With the cello concerto from 2020, composer Anders Nilsson won Musikförläggarna’s classical music prize, and one reviewer described it as a concert “with hit potential.” Anders Nilsson has had several major successes, including the opera Zarah at Folkoperan in 2007. At the Composer Weekend dedicated to his music the following year, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra performed several of his orchestral pieces. 

We hear his cello concerto with Amalie Stalheim as soloist. She also performed the world premiere. After winning the Soloist Prize in 2018, Stalheim has become established as one of Sweden’s foremost cellists. Patrik Ringborg leads the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.