Sibelius Nielsen Festival in Stockholm

If you fancy a trip to Stockholm, then the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (Kungliga Filharmoniska Orkestern) is presenting all of Sibelius and Nielsen's symphonies in a festival from 14 to 26 April 2015. Over the space of 12 concerts the orchestra, conducted by Sakari Oramo (chief conductor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra) along with an amazing nine orchestras from Denmark, Finland and Sweden, will be performing all seven Sibelius symphonies and all six Nielsen symphonies, alongside symphonies by Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, RVW, Atterberg, Stenhammar, Beethoven, Mahler, Ives, Mendelssohn and Brahms.

Oramo and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra are being joined in the festival by Alexander Verdenikov and the Odensee Symphony Orchestra, John Storgårds and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Michael Francis and the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Leif Segerstam and the Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra, Stefan Solyom and the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Marc Soustrot and the Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Thomas Dausgaard and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, and Alexander Shelley and the Gothenborg Symphony Orchestra.

Each of the festival’s 12 concerts will also be prefaced by introductions presented by Mats Engström, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra’s director of programme and curator of the festival, in company with guests including Ilkka Oramo, John Fellow, Sakari Oramo, Ida-Maria Vorre of the Odense Carl Nielsen Museum as well as several Swedish musicians and composers.

Nielsen conducted the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in 1918 and again a decade later, in performances of his Symphonies Nos. 4 and 5; Sibelius conducted them in 1923 and 1924, directing the orchestra in the world premiere of his Symphony No. 7 on 24 March 1924 and also conducted his Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6. Sakari Oramo's association with the orchestra began in the mid-1990's and has continued more recently.

The concerts all take place at the Stockholm Concert Hall, built in the 1920's to house the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra. If you want to know more then there is a special edition of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra's magazine, or there is a special YouTube introduction from Sakari Oramo.