From November 22-25 the Stockholm International Composer Festival, which in previous years has honoured such renowned composers as Alfred Schnittke, Michael Tippett and Henri Dutilleux, welcomes Thea Musgrave. Now in its twenty-seventh year, the Festival is one of the classical music world’s most high-profile opportunities to discover the full breadth of a singular composer’s music and largest focus on Musgrave's music to have ever been held.
Four orchestral and chamber concerts, hosted at the Swedish capital’s premier concert hall, will be given by the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (RSPO), the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Karen Kamensek and Finnish-Ukrainian conductor, Dalia Stasevska. As well as providing a comprehensive overview of Musgrave’s long career, the RSPO will join with Nicholas Daniel to give the world premiere of Night Windows for oboe and strings. The work takes its title from Edward Hopper’s striking painting of the same name, exploring the emotional themes that permeate his work more generally over five movements. It will feature alongside Turbulent Landscapes, The Seasons and Loch Ness in a programme of Musgrave's orchestral works which are inspired by art.
Stockholm International Composer Festival 2018
Nov 22 | Konserthuset Stockholm | Book Tickets
Nicholas Daniel, oboe
Karen Kamensek, conductor
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Loch Ness – A Postcard from Scotland (2012)*
The Seasons (1988)
Night Windows for oboe and strings (2016) World Premiere
Turbulent Landscapes (2003)
Nov 23 | Konserthuset Stockholm | Book Tickets
Ellen Nisbeth, viola
Hannah Holgersson, soprano
Dalia Stasevska, conductor
Norrköping Symphony Orchestra
Concerto for Orchestra (1967)*
Songs for a Winter's Evening (1995)
Scottish Dance Suite (1959)
+ Richard Rodney Bennett: Lady Caroline Lamb, Elegy for Viola and Orchestra (1972)
Nov 24 | Konserthuset Stockholm | Book Tickets
Nicholas Daniel, oboe
Karen Kamensek, conductor
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Loch Ness – A Postcard from Scotland (2012)
The Seasons (1988)
Helios (1994)*
Turbulent Landscapes (2003)
Nov 25 | Konserthuset Stockholm | Book Tickets
Nicholas Daniel, oboe
Hannah Holgersson, soprano
Members of the RSPO
A Song for Christmas (1958)
Music for Horn and Piano (1967)
From One to Another I (1970)
Niobe for oboe and tape (1987)
Narcissus for flute and digital delay (1987)
From Spring to Spring for marimba (1996)
Threnody for cor anglais and piano (1997)
Dawn for oboe solo (2016)
Snow for soprano, cor anglais and viola (2010)
*Swedish premiere
Musgrave at the BBC
Discover more about Thea Musgrave's music on the BBC. Podcasts for both her 2018 appearances on Radio 3's Composer of the Week series and Radio 4's Desert Island Discs are now available to download through BBC Sounds.
Desert Island Discs | Composer of the Week
YouTube: Ninetieth Birthday Concert
Watch the full concert and individual works from the New York celebration of Musgrave's ninetieth birthday. The New York Virtuoso Singers, The American Brass Quintet and friends from all over the world join to perform choral and operatic works.
Full Concert | Music Sales YouTube Channel
photo: Bryan Sheffield
