Soloists:
Sergei Roldugin (cello) and
Sergei
Nakariakov (trumpet)
Conductor:
Maria
Eklund
The name of Aaron Copland (1900–1990) – the son of emigrants from the Russian
Empire – is associated not with light genres but with such works as the
symphonic suite Appalachian Spring, Symphony for Organ, the
cowboy ballet Rodeo or the opera The Tender Land. Starting in
the 1930s Copland emerged as America’s leading composer of classical music. He
worked in different styles, including dodecaphony, but when he wanted to
underline the national character of his works he turned, as a rule, to jazz.
Friedrich Gulda (1930–2000) was an Austrian musician, acclaimed both as a
pianist and as a composer. Friedrich Gulda and two other brilliant pianists of
his generation – Jorg Demus and Paul Badura-Skoda – became known as “the
Viennese troika”. Having earned a reputation in classical music, for many years
Gulda took an interest in jazz and rock music and, in 1955, he opened a jazz
club. Gulda’s best-known and most vivid works include his Concerto for Cello and
Wind Orchestra.
George Gershwin (1898–1937) embodies the American
national style that is based on jazz. Like almost every musician on Broadway, he
was the son of Russian emigre Jews. Coming to professional music as
a pianist and accompanist and the composer of songs for one-day shows,
he attained great heights in lighter as well as serious genres with amazing
alacrity. His masterpieces include Rhapsody in Blue and the opera
Porgy and Bess, but Gershwin’s ascent to fame began from songs, when
Swanee (1919) brought him $10, 000 in just one year.
Fredrik Osterling (1966) is a Swedish composer of stage, orchestral,
chamber, choral and vocal works that have been successfully performed throughout
Europe. Osterling’s works deal with the correspondence between music,
language and rhetoric. In 2006 Osterling was appointed Organisational Manager of
the Swedish Union of Musicians. This work on cultural and political issues
has always been carried out in parallel to composing. In March 2007
the Folkoperan in Stockholm presented the premiere of Osterling’s most
recent opera, Shit ocksa! (Oh, Shit!). Osterling’s Songs
of Ecstasy were composed especially for a concert by
the Swedish Wind Ensemble.