Vuorion säätiö's Concert - Var det en dröm?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791):
Symphony No 25 in G minor, K. 183 (1773)

1. Allegro con brio
2. Andante
3. Menuetto
4. Allegro

Richard Wagner (1813–1883):
Wesendonck-Lieder (1857–1858, orchestration Felix Mottl)

1. Der Engel
2. Stehe still
3. Im Treibhaus
4. Schmerzen
5. Träume

— Intermission —

Richard Wagner:
Dich teure Halle (Elisabethin aria from the opera Tannhäuser, 1845)

Tebogo Monnakgotla (1972–):
The Robin (2023) (Finland premiere)

Jean Sibelius (1865–1957):
Lauluja (orkesterointi Jaakko Kuusisto)

1. Men min fågel märks dock icke op. 36 nro 2
2. Svarta rosor op. 36 nro 1
3. Törnet op. 88 nro 5
4. Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte op. 37 nro 5
5. Var det en dröm op. 37 nro 4

Anna-Maria Helsing, conductor

Anna-Maria Helsing has gained an outstanding reputation with leading Scandinavian orchestras and opera houses. 2023 she was appointed Chief Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, where she held the position as its Principal Guest Conductor since 2020. She is also the Chief Conductor Designate of Vaasa City Orchestra in Finland, starting her position in 2025. From 2010 to 2013 Anna-Maria Helsing was Chief Conductor of the Oulu Symphony – the first-ever female conductor at the head of a Finnish symphony orchestra. She currently holds the position as Artistic Director of the high-profile chamber music festival Rusk, in Jakobstad, Finland.

Within a short time the Finnish conductor has conducted all the major Finnish and Swedish orchestras including the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish National Opera Orchestra, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony and Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra. She also conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra (London), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (London), Royal Danish Opera Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Barcelona Symphony, Iceland Symphony, Trondheim Symphony, Odense Symphony, Jena Philharmonic, Estonian National Symphony and Musikkollegium Winterthur (Switzerland).

Anna-Maria Helsing gave her debut at the Finnish National Opera with Adriana Mater by Kaija Saariaho in 2008. She has led a number of world premieres, most recently Momo at the Royal Danish Opera and Magnus-Maria by Karólína Eiríksdóttir on tour in Scandinavia. She has also performed established operas by Mozart, Cimarosa, Puccini, Mascagni, Madetoja and Bernstein at the Tampere Opera and Savonlinna Opera Festival to name but a few. Anna-Maria Helsing feels a special affinity with the sound and style of modernism and contemporary music.

Julia Sporsén, soprano

Swedish soprano Julia Sporsén is the 2023 recipient of Svenska Dagbladet’s Operapris, which was awarded to her after her success as the title role in Norma at Folkoperan in 2022.

She is known for the intensity with which she portrays her characters, and her performances have been described as “fiery” (Opera Magazine), “searing” (The Sunday Times), and “almost unbearably moving” (The Spectator). In 2024/25 she sings the role of Desdemona in Otello and the title role in Iolanta at Göteborg Opera.

Last season she sang the role of Paulina Salas Death and the Maiden at Malmö Opera, Verdi Requiem with the Jönköping Sinfonietta, a new work by Maria Lithell Flyg at the Västerås Konserthus, performances with RUSK Chamber Music at Schumann Hall in Finland, and a programme of Rangström, Stenhammar and Sibelius with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

Further recent highlights include a return to Scottish Opera as Pat Nixon Nixon in China, Elsalill in Herr Arnes Penningar, Waltraute in Die Walküre and Ingeborg in Elfrida Andrés opera Fritiofs saga at Göteborg Opera, Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle and Isolde Tristan and Isolde at the Folkoperan in Stockholm. In 2021/22, she took up the position of Artist in Residence at Kulturhuset Spira in Jönköping.

Tebogo Monnakgotla, composer

Tebogo Monnakgotla is currently one of Sweden’s most noted composers both nationally and internationally. In recent years, she has held positions as Composer in Residence at Wermland Opera, Jönköping Sinfonietta, and most recently at the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, as well as at the prestigious Tanglewood Festival in the USA. Now it is time for the Concert Hall to invite her as Composer of the Season.

Tebogo Monnakgotla, born in 1972, grew up in Uppsala and began playing cello early on at the music school. After attending the music program at Södra Latin High School in Stockholm, she studied composition with Jan Sandström at the Music Academy in Piteå, and subsequently at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. A composer who has had great significance for her is the Dutch Louis Andriessen, whom she studied with at the Conservatory in The Hague.

By now, she has an extensive list of works, including the acclaimed operas Jean-Joseph and Zebran. Her fascination with the forces of nature is reflected in a noted series of instrumental works themed around climate change, including the violin concerto Globe Skimmer Surfing the Somali Jet, commissioned by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and premiered at the Concert Hall in 2023 with Johan Dalene as soloist.