Dear Friends,
One of the most recent performances of the Symphony No. 7 was directed by Damian Iorio and the NorrlandsOperan orchestra in Umeå. Damian has very kindly agreed to share his thoughts with us on that performance. Thank you Damian, and please program more Pettersson in the future!
Around 10 years ago I was having dinner with a Swedish friend who was
living in St Petersburg, Russia, and who is an avid music lover. We were
discussing Scandinavian music and he told me about a Swedish composer
who deserved to be performed more. From his vast record collection he
pulled out a recording of Pettersson’s string concerti and I was
immediately struck by the intensity and emotion of the music. I still
remember that evening very clearly.
My first opportunity to conduct his music arose only recently, when I
was asked by Norrlands Opera in Sweden to conduct the 7th Symphony. I
didn’t hesitate to say yes! As well as the Pettersson we performed the
world premiere of a Clarinet Concerto by the Swedish composer Katarina
Leyman, and Shostakovich’s Festive Overture. This was a challenging
programme for both musicians and public and I have a lot of respect for
Norrlands Opera for such imaginative programming. I also felt very
honoured to present a programme consisting of two major Swedish works.
Pettersson’s music is very challenging. It is full of extremes and the
7th Symphony creates great demands on our psychological and emotional
state. Technically the symphony veers from simple repetitive figures to
extremely complicated and difficult writing which pushes the orchestra
to its limits. Great technical control is needed in order to be able to
freely express what is written on the paper for the ears of the public,
and that is not so easy with music of such extremes. Another difficulty
is the length of the piece which is written in one long movement of
over 40 minutes, so there is nowhere in the symphony where you can take a
step back and gather yourself. Concentration has to be 100% from the
first to last note and both conductor and orchestra have to pace
themselves to be able to give everything from the first to the last bar.
Working with Norrlands Opera Symphony Orchestra was a real pleasure.
They approached the music with great seriousness and care, and were
patient and concentrated during the rehearsals. The symphony is not an
easy piece to rehearse but they always gave everything, and already from
the first day I felt that we would be able to work in depth and explore
the music together, and we achieved that. I had been told that the
orchestra had played the symphony some years earlier for a ballet (!),
but many of the musicians were playing it for the first time and
therefore we were discovering the music together.
The most important aspect we worked on was creating the right sound
world. A lot of the music is very dark and requires a certain quality
and weight of sound to express this. With perseverance we found the
right colours which then allowed us to make a big contrast in the
brighter sections. It is important to express each section of the
symphony clearly so that its structure and depth are presented with
logic and clarity, and to guide the public so that they feel transported
into the different worlds to which the music, and to which Pettersson,
is taking us. You can feel his pain, his questioning of life, of
existence, as well as the moments of calm and reflection, and we must
allow all these emotions to come through while also taking care of the
finer details which add to the general canvas.
The whole concert was very demanding for everyone. The clarinet concerto
required a lot of work and concentration and the first half was very
successful. When we started the Pettersson I could feel that it was
going to be special. The audience was very attentive and concentrated,
and was so quiet that we were able to hold the tension in the more
reflective moments. At the end of the symphony, which concludes quietly,
although not peacefully, I managed to hold absolute silence in the hall
for a very long time after the final notes. It is so important after
music of such power, of such violence and extremes, that everyone has
time to reflect. I felt that the applause started at the right moment
and the public showed its appreciation to us with a long standing
ovation. After the concert many members of the orchestra commented to me
that they didn’t expect the audience to react as they did, and they
were happy that the silence was kept be everybody in the hall. It was a
very moving performance and I am grateful to everyone involved.
Yours,
Damian
