Infatuation and jealousy

Mozart had recently fallen in love with the clarinet, when he composed what was to be his last concerto in 1791. A few months later, he was dead, only 35 years old. The cause of death is still speculated. In recent years, there has been talk of parasites, streptococci and vitamin D deficiency – Mozart often sat up at night and wrote.

But that didn’t stop the sunlight from seeping into his music! Tonight’s clarinet concerto is also bright, but not without melancholic streaks. As soloist we hear the Finnish-Swedish clarinetist Christoffer Sundqvist.

The evening’s other title composer, Igor Stravinsky, was one of the musical innovators of the 20th century. With his ballet Pulcinella, a jealousy drama that was danced for the premiere of the work by the work’s choreographer, Léonide Massine in Paris in 1920 – with costumes and set design by Pablo Picasso – he laid the foundation for neoclassicism. The music is based on pieces from commedia dell’arte, a form of theatre that emerged in Italy in the 16th century. The concert suite of the same name was created in 1922.

More dance music from the early 20th century, but of a folkloric character, is found in Béla Bartók’s Dances from Transylvania. On his travels through Eastern Europe, the composer collected lots of folk songs, which were thus preserved for posterity and became the basic material in this beautiful and beloved work.

But we actually start with a tribute to Beethoven from 2020. Subito con forza (Suddenly and with Power) is a short orchestral work by Unsuk Chin, whose music we first encountered at Norrlandsoperan during the MADE festival in 2007. Chin, who was born in Seoul, South Korea in 1961 and lives in Berlin, is considered one of the world’s most interesting contemporary composers.

The evening’s conductor is Arnaud Arbet, who led the orchestra during Norrlandsoperan’s acclaimed production of Hoffman’s Adventures in 2022.