More about the evening's program
As tradition holds, the program also includes contemporary music. This time, it’s acclaimed Swedish composer Britta Byström who opens the evening. With forward momentum and finely chiseled counterpoint, her A Walk to Brahms sets the tone for the night. The piece is part of her series of paraphrases on famous composers, and here she draws inspiration from Brahms’ confident and hypnotically lulling musical language. But with a modern twist, where musical figures lean toward loops and riffs. An opening that can be seen as an appetizer - or simply enjoyed on its own.
Following Byström’s imaginative introduction, it’s time for the evening’s main performance. Moldovan violinist Alexandra Conunova takes the stage alongside the Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra and Zoi Tsokanou. On the program is Brahms’ famous Violin Concerto in D major from 1879. A cornerstone of the genre, written for Hungarian violin virtuoso Joseph Joachim, a contemporary of Brahms, known for its technical difficulty. Once both praised and dismissed, the concerto has grown into an unmistakable classic. For many today, it’s a clear favorite among the great violin concertos. And no wonder—this piece offers everything one could wish for in a solo concerto: warm orchestral color, dramatic contrasts, and heavenly melodic lines. Despite its virtuosity, it glows with lyrical beauty. Conunova is celebrated for her expressive style - both virtuosic and warmly inviting. Her breakthrough came in 2012 when she won first prize at the Joseph Joachim Competition in Hanover - the very violinist to whom Brahms dedicated this concerto. It’s a piece almost tailor-made for her.
After the intermission, it’s time for the orchestra to shine in one of the world’s most beloved symphonies: Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 “From the New World.” It was an instant success at its premiere at Carnegie Hall in 1893. Legend has it the audience applauded between every movement, and it wasn’t long before the symphony was performed in concert halls across Europe. It was written during Dvořák’s time as director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York - a highly respected institution at the time. His years in the U.S. made a deep impression on the middle-aged composer. During his travels, he encountered both African American spirituals and Indigenous music.
Dvořák firmly believed that this musical soil should be the foundation of American music. The Ninth Symphony is thus musically influenced by its place of origin, though the influences blend together. The Bohemian tradition of flowing melodic song is also very much alive in this popular symphony. Perhaps it’s the American influences and the blues-tinged phrases that make the piece feel so modern even today. Many film scores have drawn inspiration from Dvořák’s masterpiece, where the established forms of the old world meet the musical diversity of the new. With its campfire-like simplicity and majestic soundscape, it offers a gentle contrast to Brahms’ fiery violin fireworks - and becomes a sublime conclusion to a program devoted to grand melodies.
The Musicians
Conductor
Conductor Zoi Tsokanou was born in Thessaloniki, where she earned degrees in piano and musicology. She continued her studies in Zurich, studying piano with Konstantin Scherbakov and conducting with Johannes Schlaefli. Today, she lives in Zurich with her family. With a vibrant temperament and deep love for music, Zoi Tsokanou has made a name for herself in both opera and concert circles. She is the first woman in history to lead one of Greece’s major orchestras. From 2017 to 2023, she served as chief conductor and artistic director of the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra. During her tenure, she led the 120 musicians into a new era with a broadened repertoire, increased international profile, greater accessibility, and a strong focus on education and audience engagement.
More info: zoitsokanou.com
Soloist
For this concert, Alexandra Conunova is the featured soloist. Born in Moldova in 1988, she won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2015. She tours worldwide and was praised in 2020 for her recording of Vivaldi’s Le quattro stagioni. Conunova is acclaimed for her virtuosity, warm tone, impressive color palette, and technical brilliance. She has also received the prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship in London.
Alexandra Conunova has performed with many of the world’s leading orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, NDR Radiophilharmonie, BR Rundfunkorchester, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Paris Chamber Orchestra, Oxford Philharmonic, Mariinsky Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Polish Radio National Symphony Orchestra, Filarmonica di Bologna, Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
She regularly collaborates with renowned conductors such as Cristian Măcelaru, Yutaka Sado, Jonathan Rohrer, Andrew Manze, Lawrence Foster, Louis Langrée, Andris Poga, Jeannette Weilerstein, Laurence Equilbey, Antonello Manacorda, Christian Zacharias, Domingo Hindoyan, Jonathan Nott, Pierre Bleuse, Duncan Ward, Gerrit Prießnitz, Oksana Lyniv, and Joana Mallwitz.
More info: alexandraconunova.com
Norrlandsoperans symfoniorkester
Violin I
Timothy Peters, Miguel Chamorro, Isaac Bachs Viñuela, Per-Erik Andersson, Kersti Wilhelmsson, Lisa Erpelding, Matias Malmqvist, Kitiara Braune
Violin II
Pontus Björk, Andreas Olsson, Amandus Lind, Mikhail Zatin, EvaBritt Molander, Thomas Nichols, Lina Samuelsson
Viola
Malgorzata Blaszczyk, Ester Forsberg, Karolina Bednarz, Pablo Munoz Salido, Åsa Hjelm, Johanne Skaansar
Cello
Bekhbat Tsagaanchuluun, Karin Bjurman, Kristina Tereschatov, Erik Elvkull, Bianca Byun
Double Bass
Jan-Emil Kuisma, Charlotte Petersson, Josefin Landmér, Antoine Greuzard
Flute
Ebba Wallén, Michaela Hansen
Oboe
Jonas Albrektsson, Johannes Ögren
Clarinet
Tania Villasuso Couceiro, Jonas Olsson Hakelind
Bassoon
Jamie Louise White, Maria Kindell
Horn
Orvar Johansson, Yerang Ko, Edna Fernandes, Ayman Al Fakir
Trumpet
Malin Silbo-Ohlsson, Thomas Petit
Trombone
Peter Nygren, Daniel Bjerhag Hedin, Mathias Petersson
Tuba
Linus Mattsson
Timpani
Ian Piniés
Percussion
Maximiliano Polo
Learn more about the Norrlandsoperan Symphony Orchestra here: norrlandsoperan.se/norrlandsoperans-symfoniorkester