News & Events

PASSIO, First performances, Easter 2024

As mentioned earlier, this is a joint commission from ten choirs (see below). Seven of them will make the first performance in 2024, and the remaining three will perform the work during the Easter of 2025.

Here are the first performances of 2024:

• Maria Magdalena kyrka, Stockholm
Sunday 24 March 2024, at 16:00
Maria Magdalena Motettkör
Lisa Carlioth, soprano
Maria Forsström, mezzosoprano
Carl Ackerfeldt, baritone
Andrew Canning, organ
Tony Bauer & Petter Axelsson, viola
Andreas Lavotha & Magnus Lanning, cello
Mats Nilsson, conductor

• Acusticum, Piteå
Sunday 24 March 2024, at 17:00
Erik Westbergs Vokalensemble
Pia-Karin Helsing, soprano
Katarina Karnéus, mezzosoprano
Anders Eriksson, baritone
Aaron Sunstein, organ
Anastasia Shugaeva & Lidija Radmilac, viola
Åke Hedman & Josef Alin, cello
Erik Westberg, conductor
This concert will also be broadcast by Sveriges Radio (Swedish Radio) SR P2, the same day, at 20:00,
and in an EBU-broadcast all over Europe (BBC will broadcast it on 30 March 2024)

• Hedvigs kyrka, Norrköping
Sunday 24 March 2024, at 17:00
S:t Olofs Oratoriekör & S:t Olofs kammarkör
Sandra Bendrik, soprano
Katarina Böhm, mezzosoprano
Marcus Bartoletti, baritone
Stefan Fred, organ
String Musicians
Gunnar Björkvall, conductor

• Linköpings Domkyrka, Linköping
Söndag 24 March 2024, at 18:00
Domkyrkans Kammarkör
Elin Skorup, soprano
Katija Dragojevic, mezzosoprano
Staffan Liljas, baritone
Sara Michelin, organ
Karin Svanberg Ancker & Malin Bratt, viola
Niklaas Veltman & Florian Erpelding, cello
Marie-Louise Beckman, conductor

• S:ta Birgittas kapell, Gothenburg
Sunday 24 March 2024, at 18:00
Carl Johans Kammarkör
Nina Ewald, sopran
Amanda Flodin, mezzosoprano
Arvid Eriksson, baritone
Svetla Tsvetkova, organ
String Musicians from Göteborgs Symfoniker
David Molin, conductor

• Uppenbarelsekyrkan, Hägersten
Wednesday 27 March 2024, at 19:00
Uppenbarelsekyrkans Motettkör
Jessica Elevant, soprano
Maria Forsström, mezzosoprano
David Risberg, baritone
Joakim Andersson, organ
Tony Bauer & Petter Axelsson, viola
Andreas Lavotha & Magnus Lanning, cello
Martin Blomquist, conductor

• Stora kyrkan, Östersund
Friday 29 March 2024, at 15:00
Stora Kyrkans Motettkör
Sofia Niklasson, soprano
Maria Forsström, mezzosoprano
Lars Brissman, baritone
Andrew Canning, organ
String Musicians
Nicklas Strandberg, conductor

Concert with the Symphony Orchestra of KMH, 23 Febr. 2024

Kungasalen (the concert hall) of Kungliga Musikhögskolan in Stockholm, Sweden (KMH), at 19:00

• Sergei Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No 2 (soloist: Max Brynolf)
• Erich Wolfgang Korngold: from The Adventures of Robin Hood
• Ottorino Respighi: Feste romane

Concert with Gävle Symphony Orchestra  and Chloë Hanslip, 2 Febr. 2024

Gävle Concert Hall, at 19:00

• Giuseppe Verdi: La forza del destino, sinfonia
• B. Tommy Andersson: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Homage to Michelangelo (soloist: Chloë Hanslip)
• Ildebrando Pizzetti: Tre preludi sinfonici per L’Edipo Re
• Nino Rota: Sinfonia No. 3 in do

Passio secundum Matthaeum

A new St. Matthew Passion in Latin (finished 5 November 2023), based on chapter 26 and 27 from the Gospel of St. Matthew, from the Vulgata, i.e. the Bible in Latin, with additional texts of Ambrosius, Fortunatus, Bonaventura, and Jacopone da Todi.

Three solo voices (soprano, mezzo, baritone), Mixed chorus, 2 Violas, 2 Violoncellos, and Organ.

This is a joint commission from ten choirs in Sweden: (in alphabetical order): Carl Johans församling, Göteborg (David Molin); Erik Westbergs Vokalensemble, Piteå (Erik Westberg); Kalmar Domkyrka (Jan H. Börjesson); Linköpings Domkyrka (Marie-Louise Beckman); Lunds Domkyrka (Robert Bennesh); Maria Magdalena kyrka, Stockholm (Mats Nilsson); Norrköpings församling (Gunnar Björkvall); Sankt Johannes kyrka, Malmö (Christian Schultze); Uppenbarelsekyrkan, Hägersten(Martin Blomqvist); Östersund församling (Nicklas Strandberg).

Premiere Easter 2024.

More information here.

Two new pieces for chamber orchestra

Variations for Orchestra on a Theme of Mozart, based on the famous first theme of Mozart’s Symphony in G minor (K550). Originally composed in 1984 as duet for two violins, later reshaped for organ, and now in a version for chamber orchestra.

Romantic Miniatures, an orchestral suite in five movements, based on five earlier organ pieces.

More information here.

Sera d’estate al Pincio, new organ piece

Summer’s Evening at Pincio. A new piece for organ solo, composed for the wedding of Gunhild Vidén and Anders Wiklund, 15 June 2019.

More information here.

Le fontane di Villa d’Este

This concert piece for large organ and orchestra is written for and dedicated to Carl Adam Landström, and it was played by him on the new Klais-Organ in Malmö Sankt Petri Church on 27 April 2019, together with Malmö Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marc Soustrot.
The full title of the piece is Le fontane di Villa d’Este, Variazioni su antiche danze per organo grande e orchestra.

More information here.

Beyond the Senses

This concerto for string trio (violin, viola, and violoncello) and orchestra is inspired by paintings of the Italian artist Roberto Ferri. The music is written for Trio ZPR (Cecilia Zilliacus, violin, Johanna Persson, viola, and Kati Raitinen, cello) and it’s a joint commission from The Orchestra of Norrlandsoperan and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.

The first performance took place in Umeå, 9 May 2019 and in Luleå, 10 May 2019. The solo parts were played by Cecilia Zilliacus (vn.), Lise Berthaud (vla.), and Kati Raitinen (vc.). The Orchestra of Norrlandoperan, conducted by Anja Bihlmaier.

More information here.

Vier Luther-Variationen

Four Luther Variations/Fyra Luthervariationer.

Commissioned by Stefan Parkman and Uppsala Universitets Körcentrum (The Choir Centre of Uppsala University) for the quincentenary of Martin Luther’s Ninety-five Thesis, 31 October 1517, the start of the reformation.

1. Vom Himmel Hoch, da komm ich her
2. Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein
3. Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist
4. Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott

These chorale variations make use of the texts and melodies of Martin Luther, putting them in an entirely new musical context with a dramatic and narrative approach to the words. The four movements can be performed either as a suite or individually. Total duration: c. 20 minutes.

The first performance took place in Uppsala Domkyrka (Uppsala Cathedral, Uppsala, Sweden), 29 October 2017. Uppsala Akademiska Kammarkör, Västerås Domkyrkas Motettkör, Olle Persson (baritone), Johan Hansson Lindström (organ), Stefan Parkman (conductor).

More information here.

The Importance of Being Earnest was a huge success!

A new chamber opera by B Tommy Andersson, based on Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest. Libretto (in English) by William Relton.

The opera was produced by Vadstena-Akademien (Vadstena International Opera Academy) in the Summer of 2017, in Bröllopssalen at Vadstena Castle.

Production Team

Director: William Relton
Conductor: B Tommy Andersson
Set and Costume Design: Marika Feinsilber
Light Designer: Anna Wemmert
Wig and Make Up Designer: Lotta Reinhold

Cast

Jack: Sebastian Durán (baritone)
Algernon: Hannes Öberg (baritone)
Chasuble: Nils Hübinette (tenor)
Lane & Merriman: Richard Hamrin (baritone)
Lady Bracknell: Ingrid Tobiasson (alto)
Gwendolen: Francine Vis (mezzo soprano)
Cecily: Vivianne Holmberg (soprano)
Miss Prism: Emma Sventelius (mezzo soprano)

First performance of the Violin Concerto 11 May 2017

This took place in Louis de Geer Concert Hall in Norrköping. Paul Waltman played the solo part, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra was conducted by B Tommy Andersson. The programme started with Ottorino Respighi’s Fontane di Roma, followed by B Tommy Andersson’s Violin Concerto, Homage to Michelangelo, and after the interval Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Symphony in F sharp.

Thursday 11 May 2017, at 19:00

Pan played in Stockholm 4 and 6 May 2017

Stockholm Concert Hall. The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra performed B Tommy Andersson’s tone poem Pan, conducted by Thomas Søndergård. The rest of the programme consiststed of music of Richard Strauss. The soprano Iréne Theorin sang the final scene from Salome, and „Allein! Weh! ganz allein!” from Elektra. After the interval the tone poem Also sprach Zarathustra.

Thursday 4 May 2017, at 18:00

Saturday 6 May 2017, at 15:00

Satyricon played in Stockholm

In January 2017, The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra played B Tommy Andersson’s Satyricon in two concerts in Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, conducted by Stefan Solyom. The rest of the programme: Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto (soloist: Hilary Hahn), and Igor Stravinsky’s Petrushka.

Thursday 20 January 2017, at 19:00

Friday 21 January 2017, at 19:00

The Violin Concerto finished

The Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Homage to Michelangelo, was finished the 22 August 2016. It is commissioned by Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, Sweden, and composed for the violinist Paul Waltman. The first performance will be on Thursday 11 May 2017, in De Geer Hall, Norrköping.

Click here to read more about the piece.

Sonetti di Michelangelo — New songs for baritone and piano

A new cycle of five songs for baritone (or mezzo-soprano) and piano was finished 24 January 2016.
…..Everyone knows that Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) was one of the most famous sculptors and painters during the Italian renaissance. It is not as well known that he also wrote poems.
…..These songs are based on five of his Rime from the 1530’s. The chosen poems are all written in the formal rhyme scheme of a sonnet, and they are all inspired by a young nobleman, Tommaso dei Cavalieri, whom Michelangelo met in 1532, when Cavalieri was 23 years old. This young man was exceptionally handsome in a way that met Michelangelo’s ideal for male beauty and it led to a very close, lifelong friendship. Cavalieri was present when the artist died. Around 30 of Michelangelo’s 302 poems are dedicated to him.

1. Se ‘l foco fusse alla bellezza equale
2. Tu sa’ ch’i’so, signor mie, che tu sai
3. I’ mi credetti, il primo giorno ch’io
4. Veggio co’ be’ vostr’occhi un dolce lume
5. Veggio nel tuo bel viso, signor mio

First performance: 10 October 2016, Dixon Recital Hall, Tulane University, New Orleans, USA. Jeremy Huw Williams (baritone), Paula Fan (piano).

For more information, please click here.

Success for Pan, premiered at the Proms, 3 September 2015!

As a part of B Tommy Andersson having been Composer-in-Association at BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the orchestra (conducted by Thomas Søndergård) made the first performance of the new orchestral work Pan, a BBC commission, at a Prom concert in the Royal Albert Hall, on the 3rd of September 2015, at 6.30pm (Prom 64). The piece was very enthusiastically received by the audience.

Here you will find some reviews of the piece.

You will find more information about the piece here (on my website) and here (BBC Radio 3 blog)

Click here to listen to the piece.

The same day, at 4.45pm–5.30pm, there was a Proms Extra at Royal College of Music in London, where B Tommy Andersson, in conversation with Andrew McGregor, discussed the world premiere of Pan and introduce performances of his chamber works. This was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 after the concert.

See following article in Gramophone, 24 April 2015

First performance of Albertus Pictor, organ concerto

This concerto, commissioned by Olof Boman for Glogerfestspillene (Gloger Music Festival) in Kongsberg, Norway, is inspired by church paintings of the Swedish late-medieval Painter, Pearl-embroiderer, and Organist Albertus Pictor (Albrekt the Painter, c. 1440–1509).

It is composed for and dedicated to Hans-Ola Ericsson (Chair of Organ and Church Music, University Organist, Schulich School of Music/McGill University, Montreal, Canada). The first performance took place 22 January 2015, conducted by Peter Szilvay.

You will find more information here.

Success for The Garden of Delights in Cardiff

BBC National Orchestra of Wales had its first concert with B Tommy Andersson as Composer-in-Association on Friday 3 October 2014, in St. David’s Hall in Cardiff. The music was very enthusiastically received by the audience. Here you will find excerpts from some reviews.

Death in Venice nominated for a prize

B. Tommy Andersson’s orchestral work Death in Venice was nominated for Musikförläggarnas Pris 2014 (Swedish Music Publishers’ Prize 2014), in the category Årets Konstmusikpris, stor ensemble/opera (The Art Music Prize of the Year, large ensemble/opera). The other three nominees were: Benjamin Staern (Sånger om bländvit kärlek), Daniel Börtz (Sinfonia 12), and Tebogo Monnakgotla (Light Years Away – Supernova!).

The winner was announced on Friday 7 November 2014, at Berns Salonger, Stockholm, and the prize was awarded to Daniel Börtz for his Sinfonia 12.

Scholarship awarded to B Tommy Andersson

On Friday 16 May 2014, B Tommy Andersson received the 2014 Scholarship for Composers [Tonsättarstipendium 2014] of SEK 40,000 from Musikföreningen i Stockholm, with following motivation: “For his rich contributions to the choral repertoire, from the delicate to the grandiose”.

Musikföreningen i Stockholm (The Music Society in Stockholm) was founded in 1880 by composer and conductor Ludvig Norman (1831–1885), inspired by Musikverein in Vienna. Since 1936, they have awarded scholarships to 52 Swedish composers, among them: Hugo Alfvén, Hilding Rosenberg, Gösta Nystroem, Lars-Erik Larsson, Sven-David Sandström, Ingvar Lidholm, Karin Rehnqvist, Hans Gefors, Anders Hillborg, and Anders Eliasson.

B Tommy Andersson Composer-in-Association at BBC NOW

B Tommy Andersson was Composer-in-Association at BBC National Orchestra of Wales for the 2014—2015 season.

During the concert season, the orchestra played two orchestral works of his at regular concerts in St David’s Hall in Cardiff. B Tommy Andersson’s The Garden of Delights (2009) will be the very first piece to be played in new the season, on 3 October 2014, followed by Richard Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder and Jean Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1. In the last concert of the season in St David’s hall, on 5 June 2015, the orchestra will play Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, and the concert will be opened by B Tommy Andersson’s Satyricon (2000). Both these concerts are conducted by the principal conductor of the orchestra, Thomas Søndergård.

There will also be a portrait concert in Hoddinott Hall, on the 25 February 2015, with music of Andersson conducted by Søndergård. Here the orchestral works Death in Venice (2013), Passacaglia (2008), and Warriors (2010) will be played, as well as Apollo (1995)  — a concerto for percussion solo and orchestra — with the Swedish percussionist Markus Leoson as soloist.

On 20 January 2015, B Tommy Andersson will conduct a concert with BBC NOW in Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff, with Swedish orchestral music only. The pieces that will be performed are: Hilding Rosenberg’s Dance Suite from Orpheus in Town, Ludvig Norman’s Concert Overture in E-flat, Ingvar Lidholm’s Kontakion, and, finally, Hugo Alfvén’s Symphony No. 4.

See following articles:

Article in Gramophone, 24 April 2015

www.classicalsource.com, 15 September 2014

Seen and Heard International, 3 September 2014

Planet Hugill, 29 August 2014

Article in Gramophone, 9 May 2014

Article in BBC Classical Music (The Official Website of BBC Music Magazine)

New piece for chorus and organ: Från mars -79

The music is composed to a poem of Nobel Prize laureate Tomas Tranströmer. In this short and beautiful poem (From March 1979), the author tells how sick he is to hear words without a meaning, words without a language. He travels to a desolate, snowy island, where he sees a line of a deer-slots in the snow — a language without words.

This work is commissioned by Malmö Pastorat (The Parish of Malmö) and my friend Carl Adam Landström, to whom the piece also is dedicated. It is composed for mixed chorus (S.A.T.B.) and a large symphonic (romantic) organ, preferably with three manuals, but it could also be played on a two manual instrument.

Here you can read more about the piece

The first performance took place in Sankt Petri Church, Malmö, Sweden, 19 January 2014.

New orchestral piece: Death in Venice

Richard Wagner died on February 13, 1883, in Ca’ Vendramin Calergi in Venice. Since 1946, this palazzo, situated by Canal Grande, is used as a casino. But it also houses a small Wagner museum, and there is a plaque with following poem of the Italian poet Gabriele d’Annunzio (1863–1938):

…..In questo palagio
…..l’ultimo spiro di Riccardo Wagner
…..odone le anime perpetuarsi come la marea
…..che lambe i marmi

…..In this palace,
…..the spirits are listening
…..to the last breath of Richard Wagner,
…..perpetuated like the tide that licks the marble

This orchestral work is a dirge for Wagner, 200 years after his birth and 130 years after his death.

Here you can read more about the piece

The first performance took place in Umeå, Sweden, 16 January 2014. The Orchestra of Norrlandsoperan, conducted by Rumon Gamba.

New piece for chorus and organ: The Tyger

This new choral work was completed 8 August 2012, commissioned by and dedicated to my dear friend, the outstanding choral conductor, professor Erik Westberg, for The Erik Westberg Vocal Ensemble. It is based on William Blake’s (1757—1827) two poems The Tyger (from Songs of Experience, 1794) and The Lamb (from Songs of Innocence, 1789).

The music is written for mixed chorus (S.A.T.B.) and a large symphonic (romantic) organ, preferably with three manuals, but it could also be played on a two manual instrument. Erik Westberg also asked for an additional version for chorus and accordion, for a tour in Germany, autumn 2012.

Duration: 5 minutes.

The first performance took place in the concert hall Studio Acusticum, Piteå, 5 October 2012. The Erik Westberg Vocal Ensemble, conducted by Erik Westberg.

Here you will find more details about the piece

– Click on the image for a larger view

New orchestration of The Magic Flute at Confidencen

In May 2011, B. Tommy Andersson finished a reorchestration of W. A. Mozart’s opera Die Zauberflöte for an ensemble of 10 period instruments. The orchestration is carried out in the orchestration style of the 1790’s, and it makes a performance of the opera possible even in a small historical theatre, where the original orchestration is too large for the orchestral pit.

The instrumentation is: 1 classical flute (doubling piccolo in Monostatos aria), 1 classical clarinet (in B-flat, C, and A), 2 natural horns (in C, D, E-flat, F, G, and high B-flat), 2 violins, 2 violas, 1 violoncello, 1 doublebass. In addition, a keyboard glockenspiel on stage.

It was premiered at Confidencen (Ulriksdal Court Theatre) on the 20 July 2011 in a production by Per Arthur Segerström, conducted by Arnold Östman. The same production was played at Confidencen in August 2012.

See the webpage of Ulriksdal Court Theatre: Confidencen

New piece for 8 violoncellos: Awakening of the Beauteous Faun

This new composition for cello ensemble was completed 5 May 2012, commissioned by and dedicated to my dear friends in the cello section of The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

The first performance took place Sunday 30 September 2012 at 3 p.m. in Stockholm Concert Hall (Grünewaldsalen).

– Click on the image for a larger view

For more details about the piece

Top mark for the new CD (Swedish National Radio)

CD: The Garden of Delights, CD-revyn, Sveriges Radio P2, 20 May 2012

Mark: 5/5 = Exceptionally good

Here is a link to the review (in Swedish)
– Click on the image for a larger view

Several good reviews of the new CD

As mentioned above, the new CD (with The Garden of Delights and Warriors) has received top mark in the radio show CD-revyn in P2 (Swedish National Radio).

Here are the marks from some Swedish newspapers:
Dagens Nyheter (7 June 2012) Mark: 4/5
Helsingborgs Dagblad (8 June 2012) Mark: 4/5
Sydsvenskan (7 June 2012) Mark: 4/5
Svenska Dagbladet (30 May 2012) Mark: 4/6

Here you can read some of the reviews

New CD with orchestral music

Sterling Records has released a new CD with the two orchestral pieces The Garden of Delights and Warriors, played by the orchestra of NorrlandsOperan, conducted by the composer (CDM 3001-2).

First Performance at Styrsö Kammarmusikdagar, 31 July 2011

Toccata, Aria & Chaconne, a new piece for string orchestra by B. Tommy Andersson, commissioned by Styrsö Kammarmusikdagar (The Chamber Music Days of Styrsö) and financed by Kulturrådet (The Swedish Cultural Counsel), received its first performance by Styrsö Chamber Soloists, at Styrsö, Sunday 31 July 2011.

See the webpage of Styrsö Kammarmusikdagar: Styrsö Kammarmusikdagar 2011

The Garden of Delights in Helsingborg

The orchestral piece The Garden of Delights was performed by Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Stefan Solyom, 12 May 2011.

From the review in Helsingborgs Dagblad, 13 May 2011:

“To be both a conductor and a composer is seemingly a perfect combination in order to get your music out to the audience. But historically, many critics have frowned at precisely this combination. Not when it comes to Richard Strauss, who in the eyes of his contemporaries mostly was considered a composer. But the situation was different for Gustav Mahler, who was accused of composing Kapellmeistermusik (“conductor’s music”, a belittling term).

B Tommy Andersson seems to have found a good balance between his roles as interpreter and creator. Since his music is performed by other conductors, it has to stand on its own feet, which it does very well.

In The Garden of Delights (composed in 2009), which opened the concert last Thursday, he shows that he masters the art of composing well articulated music and with urgency. The shocking start, with ringing bells, howling horns, and boiling strings, was very precisely played. It was obvious that the orchestral musicians enjoyed the music and the conductor, Stefan Solyom, had the music entirely in his hand”

(Henrik Halvarson, Helsingborgs Dagblad, 13 May 2011)

Steve Reich Festival in Stockholm, 26—30 January 2011

B. Tommy Andersson and Steve Reich, Stockholm Concert Hall, 29 January 2011

B. Tommy Andersson conducted three of the concerts of this Composer’s Festival in Stockholm Concert Hall:
Wednesday, 26 January 2011, 6 p.m.
You Are (Variations)
Tehillim

Synergy Vocals
The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

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Friday, 28 January 2011, 7.30 p.m.
Proverb
City Life

Synergy Vocals & Kroumata Percussion Ensemble
Musicians from The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

Saturday, 29 January 2011, 3 p.m.
Double Sextet
Musicians from The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

The photo shows B. Tommy Andersson and Synergy Vocals in Stockholm Concert Hall, 28 January 2011.

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A Christmas Gloria performed again in Stockholm

On Saturday 10 December 2011 and Sunday 11 December 2011, B. Tommy Andersson’s A Christmas Gloria was performed again in S:t Matteus Church, Stockholm, as a part of their annual Christmas concerts. The piece was commissioned by S:t Matteus Church and very successfully performed for the first time in 2009, in the same context.

A Christmas Gloria is approximately 13 minutes long, and it is written for all the choruses of the church (children’s chorus, youth chorus and large mixed chorus), soloistic pipe organ, and orchestra.

The orchestration is: 2*.2.2.2 / 4.2.3.1 / timp, glsp, hp, org / str

See Catalogue under The Composer for further details about the piece.

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First performance of A Christmas Gloria, S:t Matteus Church, Stockholm, 12 December 2009

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Premiere of Warriors, a new dance piece

On the third and fourth of December 2010, Warriors, a new piece of B. Tommy Andersson, was premiered at Norrlandsoperan in Umeå, Sweden. Both performances were sold out. It is a dance work, created together with internationally acclaimed choreographer Pontus Lidberg, creator of numerous choreographies and dance films, such as The Rain and Labyrinth Within. Warriors is commissioned by Norrlandsoperan. Warriors was praised by the press and it received standing ovations.

— Here is a link to Pontus Lidberg’s website

Warriors is composed for orchestra (instrumentation: 2*.2*.2*.2* / 4.2.3.1 / timp, 2 perc, hp, cel / str) and has a duration of approximately 40 minutes.

Choreography, stage design and costumes by Pontus Lidberg; light design by Patrik Bogårdh. Dancers: Gabrielle Lamb (USA), Oscar Salomonsson and Pontus Lidberg (Sweden), Adrian Danchig-Waring and Craig Hall (USA), Vu Van Nguyen and Cao Duc Toan (from Vietnam National Ballet Theatre).

— Here is a link to Norrlandsoperan

The work is inspired by the legend about The Sacred Band of Thebes, a troup of 300 picked soldiers, which formed the elite force of the Theban army in the 4th century B.C.

This Theban Band consisted of 150 male couples, because it was believed that lovers could fight more fiercely than strangers. The inspiration for its formation came from Plato’s Symposion. They were organized by commander Gorgidas in 378 B.C. and after several amazing victories, they were finally defeated and killed in the battle of Chaeronea in 338 B.C., where they, although surrounded, refused to surrender. In about 300 B.C. the town of Thebes erected a stone lion at the burial site of The Sacred Band, which was restored in the 20th century and still stands today.

CD: Satyricon

Phono Suecia PSCD 178 (see Discography for details). It has received top mark in reviews in several newspapers, as well as in Swedish National Radio (CD-revyn). (see Press for details).

19 works in print from Norsk Musikforlag A/S, Oslo

Satyricon (orchestra), Passacaglia (orchestra), Reflections (soprano saxophone and orchestra), Apollo (percussion solo and orchestra), Concerto for Horn and Orchestra, Fyra Bilder (baritone/mezzo and piano), Antique (male voice and piano), Pieces for Pontus (piano solo), Sonnet XVIII (mixed chorus, a cappella), Kyssar vill jag dricka (mixed chorus, a cappella), Hjärtstilla (mixed chorus, a cappella), A Song of Joys (male chorus, solo voice and percussion), Nachts (male chorus, a cappella), Games for Giton (woodwind quintet), The Garden of Delights (orchestra), Pieces for Organ (eight pieces, written between 1982 and 2009; Prelude/Nocturne/Benedictus/Processional/ Adagio mesto/Fanfare/Elegy for an Angel/Variations on a Theme of Mozart), A Christmas Gloria (chorus, organ and orchestra), Warriors (orchestra), Bohèmiana (orchestra).

See Catalogue under The Composer for further details about each work.

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B. Tommy Andersson festival, 16—19 April 2009

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
Stockholm Concert Hall
Tonsättar-weekend (Composer’s Festival)

Thursday 16 April 2009, 19.30

Orchestra Concert

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

B. Tommy Andersson, conductor

Markus Leoson, percussion

Anders Paulsson, soprano saxophone

– B. Tommy Andersson: Intrada, for winds and percussion

– B. Tommy Andersson: Reflections, for soprano saxophone and orchestra

– B. Tommy Andersson: Apollo, concerto for percussion solo and orchestra

– B. Tommy Andersson: Passacaglia, for large orchestra (first performance)

– Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Adagio from Symphony in F-sharp

– B. Tommy Andersson: The Garden of Delights, for orchestra (first performance)

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Friday 17 April 2009, 19.30

Chamber Music Concert, Grünewaldsalen

Markus Leoson, percussion

Magnus Svensson, piano

Andreas Landin, baritone

Wind Quintet from the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

Hermann Stéfansson, clarinet

Kristofer Öberg, horn

Riikka Repo & Arne Stenlund, viola

Maria Johansson, doublebass

– B. Tommy Andersson: Sonata for percussion and piano

– B. Tommy Andersson: Fyra Bilder (text: E. A. Karlfeldt & B. Sjöberg), for baritone and piano

– B. Tommy Andersson: Antique (text: A. Rimbaud), for baritone and piano

– B. Tommy Andersson: Pieces for Pontus, for piano

– B. Tommy Andersson: Richard Baines’ aria from William

– B. Tommy Andersson: Impromptu, for clarinet and vibraphone

– B. Tommy Andersson: Insieme III, for clarinet, horn, two violas and doublebass

– B. Tommy Andersson: Games for Giton, for woodwind quintet

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Saturday 18 April 2009, 15.00

Orchestra Concert

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra

B. Tommy Andersson, conductor

Sören Hermansson, horn

– B. Tommy Andersson: The Garden of Delights, for orchestra

– B. Tommy Andersson: Concerto for horn and orchestra

– Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Adagio from Symphony in F-sharp

– B. Tommy Andersson: Satyricon, for large orchestra

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Sunday 19 April 2009, 15.00

Choir Concert, Grünewaldsalen

Ensemble Notus, conducted by Olof Boman

Magnus Svensson, piano

Andreas Landin, baritone

Markus Leoson, percussion

Dan Laurin, recorder

Gudmund Ingwall, violoncello

Tomas Gertonsson, doublebass

– B. Tommy Andersson: Sonnet XVIII (text: W. Shakespeare), for mixed choir a cappella

– B. Tommy Andersson: Hjärtstilla (text: E. A. Karlfeldt), for mixed choir a cappella

– B. Tommy Andersson: Aforismer, for piano

– B. Tommy Andersson: Jungfru Maria i Rosengård (text: V. Rydberg), for mixed choir and piano

– Sven-Eric Johanson: Fancies I (text: W. Shakespeare), for mixed choir and piano

– John Dowland: Flow My Tears

– B. Tommy Andersson: Dark Shadows, for recorder and marimba

– B. Tommy Andersson: Nachts (text: J. von Eichendorff), for male choir a cappella

– B. Tommy Andersson: A Song of Joys (text: W. Whitman), for male choir, solo voice and percussion

– B. Tommy Andersson: Stabat Mater (Latin), for women’s choir, violoncello and doublebass

– Olivier Messiaen: O sacrum convivium! (Latin), for mixed choir a cappella

– B. Tommy Andersson: Kyssar vill jag dricka (text: from The Song of Songs), for mixed choir a cappella