James MacMillan: composer festival in Stockholm’s Konserthuset
Stockholm turns the spotlight on James MacMillan in November with a four-concert composer festival. Swedish premieres include his ghostly new Concerto for Orchestra, unveiled in London last month, featuring the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.
The annual International Composer Festival at the Konserthuset in Stockholm is devoted this year to the music of James MacMillan. Running between 14 and 17 November, the four concerts feature the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra – en masse and in chamber groupings, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the Zilliacus Quartet, with conductors Ryan Bancroft and Brett Dean.
A highlight of the Stockholm festival is the Scandinavian premiere of MacMillan’s recent Concerto for Orchestra, premiered last month by the London Symphony Orchestra under Antonio Pappano and summed up by The Guardian as “a remarkably effective showpiece”. The Times described how the work provides, “with masterly craft, a succession of dazzling workouts for the various sections of the orchestra, with the players often spinning through prestissimo passagework in tightly knit pairs or trios.”
“Subtitled ‘Ghosts’, this was full of unruly energy barely contained by the division of its 25-minute length into four continuously played sections, mapping roughly onto the movements of a four-movement symphony. As befits the title, the piece was also a showpiece for the orchestra itself. The virtuoso skills of the players were displayed in enticing duos and trios… each showing the unerring ear for colour and balance that MacMillan has always had. Pleasure in sheer craftsmanship is an underrated thing, and there was plenty to be had here… The music’s satirical energy and striving for transcendence were riveting.”
Daily Telegraph
“Cast in a single movement, its four sections cover allusions to folk dance, an eastern European hymn and Scottish traditional music, together with specific quotations from Beethoven’s ‘Ghost Trio’ (hence MacMillan’s subtitle) and to Debussy’s late trio for flute, viola and harp.”
Financial Times
The Concerto for Orchestra was commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Auckland Philharmonia, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The composer himself is on the rostrum in his native Scotland for performances of the Concerto for Orchestra in Glasgow and Perth on 20/21 February with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra presents the new concerto twice in a pair of programmes on 14 and 16 November also featuring Swedish premieres of The Death of Oscar and the Trombone Concerto with Peter Moore as soloist, under the baton of Chief Conductor Ryan Bancroft. The Swedish Chamber Orchestra’s concert on 15 November presents the Swedish premiere of Violin Concerto No.2 with Ava Bahari as soloist and the composer’s classic early work Tryst, conducted by Brett Dean. The final afternoon chamber programme on 17 November sees musicians from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra join the Zilliacus Quartet in MacMillan works including Adam’s Rib, Cello Sonata No.2 and String Quartet No.3.
In addition to the Stockholm festivities, other MacMillan highlights this season include the Australian premiere of Concerto for Orchestra in Melbourne (28 November), Christmas Oratorio in Budapest (12 December), the London premiere of Violin Concerto No.2 with Nicola Benedetti (3 April), the Irish premiere of St John Passion in Dublin (18 April) and the Spanish premiere of Timotheus, Bacchus and Cecilia in Madrid (25 April).
> Further information on Work: Concerto for Orchestra
Photo: James Bellorini
