The rite of spring by Ligeti, Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Od (2023/2023), Dirigent Ryan Bancroft, Konserthuset (Stockholm Concert Hall), Stockholm, Sweden

No other individual work has had the same crucial significance for the music of our time as Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Its world premiere in 1913 in Paris is one of the most spectacular scandals in music history. The audience booed and screamed, Stravinsky was furious and left the venue. No, artistic innovation is not always received with open arms, but as everything matures with time, music that was initially met with resistance can evolve into a revered part of the repertoire – as with Rite of Spring, a modern classic. The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is led in a masterful sampling of orchestral literature by its chief conductor designate, award-winning American Ryan Bancroft. “A dancing conductor bodes well for the musicians,” wrote newspaper SvD after the 2021 Nobel Prize Concert. In the final of the 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, the demonic violinist Nicolò Paganini created a theme that has always fascinated audiences and inspired other composers. Sergei Rachmaninoff took advantage of the possibilities of the theme when he composed his virtuosic and at times inconceivably beautiful variations for piano and orchestra. The soloist is Italian Beatrice Rana, who has been praised by audiences and critics alike and is a regular soloist on the world’s major stages. She debuted with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra in January 2020 with Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. It is with great joy that we welcome her back.