Program
Tribute to Carl Nielsen (1865 – 1931)
«Helios», Konzertouvertüre op. 17
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra op. 33
Symphony No. 4 op. 29 «the Inextinguishable»
- Luzerner Sinfonieorchester
- Thomas Dausgaard, conductor
- Johan Dalene, violin
About Johan Dalen
22-year-old Norwegian-Swedish violinist Johan Dalene is already making an impact on the international scene, performing with leading orchestras and in celebrated recital halls both at home and abroad. His ability to “make his Stradivarius sing like a master” (Le Monde), coupled with his refreshingly honest musicality and engagement with musicians and audiences alike, has won him countless admirers. This talent was heralded most recently as winner of the Norwegian Soloist Prize and First Prize at the prestigious 2019 Carl Nielsen Competition, which was broadcast to audiences worldwide on medici.tv.
Johan’s recent and forthcoming orchestral highlights include his debut at the BBC Proms with the BBC Symphony with Jordan de Souza, debut performances with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra with Sakari Oramo, Czech Philharmonic with Semyon Bychkov, San Francisco Symphony with Esa-Pekka Salonen, London Philharmonic Orchestra with Karina Canellakis, Konzerthausorchester Berlin with Christoph Eschenbach, Danish Radio Symphony with Stanislav Kochanovsky, Lucerne Sinfonieorchester with Thomas Dausgaard and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic with Joshua Weilerstein. Return appearances include performances with the Swedish Radio Symphony with Herbert Blomstedt, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic for an exciting new commission by Tebogo Monnakgotla, with Johan Storgards, Gothenburg Symphony (with previous collaborator Santtu-Matias Rouvali), Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Gavle Symphony, and New Japan Philharmonic.
Johan is equally passionate about chamber music and will be giving a series of recitals in the USA for the first time in Spring 2023, notably at New York’s Carnegie Hall and San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall. Other chamber highlights include a new collaboration with Igor Levit and Julia Hagen, for performances at London’s Wigmore Hall and the Heidelberg Festival, a collaboration with the Jussen Brothers for the Mecklenburg-Vorpommen Festival, and recitals in venues such as the Hyogo Performing Arts Centre, Oslo Opera House, and Bristol St George’s.
Johan was recently selected as a European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) Rising Star, and during the 2021-22 season, performed recitals in some of Europe’s most prestigious concert halls, while also engaging in Education, Learning and Participation work with diverse communities in cities across the ECHO network. Johan was also a BBC New Generation Artist from 2019-22 during which time he performed recitals, chamber music and concerti with the BBC orchestras, all broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
Johan studies with Per Enoksson, Professor at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, as well as with Janine Jansen, and has also participated in masterclasses with a number of distinguished teachers, including Dora Schwarzberg, Pamela Frank, Gerhard Schulz, and Henning Kraggerud.
He has been awarded various scholarships and prizes, notably from the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, The Anders Wall Giresta Scholarship, Queen Ingrid’s Honorary Scholarship, The Håkan Mogren Foundation Prize, Equinor Classical Music Award, Sixten Gemzéus Stora Musikstipendium, The G.T. Bäckmans Kulturstipendium, Norrköping Kommuns Kulturstipendium and Rolf Wirténs Kulturpris. Johan plays a Stradivarius violin from 1736, generously on loan from the Anders Sveaas’ Charitable Foundation.
The Luzerner Sinfonieorchester
The Luzerner Sinfonieorchester is the resident orchestra at the prestigious KKL Luzern. As Switzerland’s oldest symphony orchestra, it has achieved international standing and is considered one of the leading Swiss orchestras.
Strongly anchored in Lucerne, a city with a worldwide reputation for music, the orchestra runs a number of concert series and initiated the annual piano festival “Le piano symphonique” in 2022. It also acts as the opera orchestra of the Lucerne Theatre. Michael Sanderling has held the post of Chief Conductor of the orchestra since the 2021/22 season.
Renowned chief conductors including James Gaffigan (2010 – 2021) and Jonathan Nott (1997 – 2002) have shaped the ensemble over the last two decades. Big names such as Constantinos Carydis, Thomas Dausgaard, Charles Dutoit, Marek Janowski, Juanjo Mena, Andris Nelsons and John Storgårds are regular guest conductors of the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester. Many artists of international repute enjoy a close association with the orchestra including Martha Argerich, Joshua Bell, Rudolf Buchbinder, Gautier and Renaud Capuçon, Julia Fischer, Vilde Frang, Gil Shaham, Vadim Gluzman, Hélène Grimaud, Steven Isserlis, Sol Gabetta, Truls Mørk, Daniil Trifonov and Krystian Zimerman.
The Luzerner Sinfonieorchester was founded in 1805/06, at the same time as Beethoven was writing his Violin Concerto, his Fourth Symphony and his Fourth Piano Concerto. With its 200-year history, the orchestra successfully combines tradition and innovation. It actively promotes new music through the commissioning of works from composers including Sofia Gubaidulina, Dieter Ammann, Rodion Shchedrin, Thomas Adès and Wolfgang Rihm. The Rising Stars series, lunchtime concerts and the Arthur Waser Prize signal the orchestra’s commitment to fostering young talent. It runs its own orchestra academy and a comprehensive outreach programme, for which it was awarded the “Junge Ohren” prize in 2018.
In 2021 the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester was able to move into its new home on the Südpol campus. The Orchestra House provides the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester with a state of the art, full-scale rehearsal venue. Besides rehearsals – some of which are open to the public – chamber music concerts and numerous music outreach events also take place at this location.
Guest performances in around 30 countries on 4 continents and in 90 cities have taken the orchestra to the world’s best-known concert halls, such as Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Philharmonie de Paris, London’s Barbican Hall, St. Petersburg Philharmonie, Salzburg Great Festival Hall, Vienna Musikverein, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, Seoul Arts Center and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. The Luzerner Sinfonieorchester was the first Swiss orchestra to perform at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, the Festival de Pâques in Aix-en-Provence and the Bologna Festival. Regular tours to Asia include destinations such as Japan, China, Korea, India and Singapore. Further engagements have taken the orchestra to Germany, Israel, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and also further afield to Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Uruguay. The 2022/23 season brings notable debuts for the orchestra, including the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg.
The international profile of the orchestra is reflected in its output of CDs and DVDs. The most recent releases are “Americans” on the French label Harmonia Mundi, and the much acclaimed recording of two violin concertos by Beethoven and Schnittke for BIS Records. Sony Classical has released albums including “Rachmaninoff in Lucerne” and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Further recordings with works by Saint-Saëns and Dutilleux (German Record Critics’ Award), Dvořák‘s Sixth Symphony (Top Music Recording 2014, New York Times) and Wolfgang Rihm’s symphony “Nähe Fern” have received awards from Harmonia Mundi. A DVD was released by Accentus Music with Martha Argerich and works by Shchedrin, Dvořák and Shostakovich.
In 2021 the Luzerner Sinfonieorchester sealed a long term partnership with Warner Classics.
Thomas Dausgaard, conductor
Danish conductor Thomas Dausgaard is internationally acclaimed as an artist “of huge conviction and outrageously good musicianship” (Europadisc), renowned for his creativity and innovation in programming, an extensive catalogue of critically-acclaimed recordings, and for “ataclysmic…life-affirming…sublime…” performances (The Times).
He is passionate about music’s engagement with society and the issues of our time, and its relevance and potential as a vital and innovative force in the life of current and future generations.
He recently completed his successful tenure as Chief Conductor of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra (2016-2022). He also holds titles as Conductor Laureate of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra (Chief Conductor 1997-2019), Honorary Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Principal Guest Conductor 2001-2004, Chief Conductor 2004–2011), and Honorary Conductor of the Orchestra della Toscana. He was previously Principal Guest Conductor (2014-2019) and Music Director (2019-2022) of the Seattle Symphony. He has been awarded the Cross of Chivalry by the Queen of Denmark, and elected to the Royal Academy of Music in Sweden.
Select highlights of his 2022/23 season include hotly anticipated return concerts with the Tokyo Metropolitan and KBS symphonies; Brussels, Copenhagen, Dresden and Wrocław philharmonics; Lucerne Symphony Orchestra; Brucknerhaus Linz; Orchestre de Chambre de Paris; and Orquesta Sinfónica y Coro de RTVE.
