The concert begins with Estonian composer Arvo Pärt’s Da pacem, Domine, a prayer for peace composed in memory of the victims of the 2004 Madrid bombing.
Gustav Mahler, being superstitious, was concerned that he would not survive his Ninth Symphony. He attempted to cheat death by giving his actual ninth symphony a name instead of a number, and when he composed the symphony performed in this concert he declared himself out of danger. Paradoxically, Mahler died before completing the symphony, leaving it unfinished. However, he completed the Adagio introduction, which we perform in the concert.
Richard Strauss composed the song cycle Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs), at the end of his life. The warm, tender songs impart a sense of completion and farewell. They are dreamy and melancholic, a nostalgic contemplation of a world and life that have disappeared. The songs “Frühling”, “September”, “Beim Schlafengehen” and “Im Abendrot” are performed by the multiple award-winning soprano Julia Sporsén, from Gothenburg.
The concert will be conducted by Patrik Ringborg, one of the most internationally sought-after Swedish conductors. The concert will have no intermission.
The Göteborg Opera building, which is shaped like a ship, was inaugurated three days after the sinking of the Estonia. The concert In Memoriam marks the start of The Göteborg Opera’s anniversary week.
