SWEDISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA CELEBRATES 15 YEARS WITH PERFORMANCES AT THE RHEINGAU MUSIK FESTIVAL, LONDON PROMS AND SALZBURG FESTIVAL.

THOMAS DAUSGAARD EXTENDS HIS CONTRACT AS MUSIC DIRECTOR OF THE SWEDISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA TO 2013.

This month Thomas Dausgaard announced that he will extend his contract as Music Director to the Swedish Chamber Orchestra to the 2012 / 13 season. Having joined the ensemble in 1997 when the Swedish Chamber Orchestra was still a fledgling ensemble, Thomas Dausgaard has been key to the evolvement and success of the orchestra which, in a period of just a few years, has established itself on the international scene and gained accolade from the New York Times for its “surprising and fresh” sound.

Then came the complete symphonies of Schumann on CD including Symphony no. 2 and the incomplete Zwickau Symphony which both feature in this summer’s tour programmes. Reviewing the BIS release of Symphony no. 2 Gramophone commented “All this talk of Schumann's stodgy orchestral writing ... Rubbish, I say! Evidence for the defence is simple: keep the orchestra slim and well balanced, the tempi lively and the textures clear and the calories positively fall away. Thomas Dausgaard, with just 38 players, turns the symphonic Schumann into a thoughtful athlete who burns energy while his mind spins.”

The successful partnership is one which gathers friends on route and blossoms into new projects. Nina Stemme first performed with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra in a concert performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio in Stockholm, an opera which she will again perform this summer at the opening of the Lucerne Festival and in production at Covent Garden in 2011. Together a new partnership has formed and her choice of tour repertoire in Berlioz’s Les Nuits d'été and Wagner’s Wesendonk Lieder leads the orchestra on a new musical journey and brings Nina Stemme back to London following the recent Laurence Olivier Award for her highly acclaimed performances of Tristen and Isolde at Covent Garden.

In addition to Les Nuits d'été this summer’s Prom concert features a new work by the young, Swedish composer Albert Schmelzer entitled A Freak in Burbank.  Intrigued by an article he read about the film director Tim Burton, Schmelzer created a nine-minute orchestral work which receives its UK premiere by the Swedish Chamber Orchestra in London. “The music of Joseph Haydn has always been a source of inspiration for me” commented Schmelzer. “What I experience as the essence of his music is the transparency, the playful character, the contrasts and the sometimes almost burlesque quality. Another artist with these ”trademarks” is the film director Tim Burton (born in Burbank, USA). In this piece I wanted to take a Haydn-size orchestra, preserve the essence of Haydn’s music, but place it in a more modern environment. Will the spirit of Haydn survive in an American suburb?”

Thomas Dausgaard and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra’s most recent release is a recording of Schubert Symphonies nos 8 & 9 released in Spring on the Swedish label BIS.

Thursday 19 August
Kloster Eberbach, Basilika, Rheingau Musik Festival, Germany
Schumann: Zwickau Symphony
Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été
Schumann: Symphony no. 2

Saturday 21 August
Nikolaj Church and Town Square, Örebro, Sweden
Albert Schnelzer: A freak in Burbank
Schumann: Zwickau Symphony
Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été
Schumann: Symphony no. 2
Commemorational event for the 200th anniversary of the vote to offer the Swedish
throne to Jean Baptiste Bernadotte in the Nikolaj Church where the decree was made.

Monday 23 August
Royal Albert Hall, London – Proms Concert, UK
Albert Schnelzer: A freak in Burbank
Schumann: Zwickau Symphony
Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été
Schumann: Symphony no. 2

Tuesday 24 August
Oslo, Norway – details to be announced
Schumann: Zwickau symphony
Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été
Beethoven: Symphony no. 7
 
Thursday 26 August
Karlstad, Sweden
Schumann: Zwickau symphony
Wagner: Wesendonk Lieder
Beethoven: Symphony no. 7
 
Saturday 28 August, 20.30
Haus für Mozart, Salzburg, Austria
Schumann: Zwickau symphony
Berlioz: Les Nuits d'été
Wagner: Wesendonk Lieder
Beethoven: Symphony no. 7

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