PREMIERE Daniel Nelson's tribute to the Nordic Chamber Orchestra
Concerto for Orchestra will receive its premiere on Thursday, November 5, in Örnsköldsvik and Friday, November 6, in Sundsvall. “I have a great love for this orchestra,” says Daniel Nelson about the Nordiska Kammarorkestern (The Nordic Chamber Orchestra), which has been his school and experimental partner since the beginning of his career 30 years ago.
Concerto for Orchestra is both retrospective and forward-looking. Daniel Nelson’s characteristic music is a “dirty, well-oiled machine” with great rhythmic drive, yet it also contains absolute beauty. The work is a joint commission by Nordiska Kammarorkestern (primary commissioner, premiere November 5–6), Svenska Kammarorkestern (November 18), and Västerås Sinfonietta (spring 2027).
Three questions for Daniel Nelson about Konsert för orkester
The four movements begin with the instructions “With great beauty and endless sadness,” “Broad, heavy, mechanical,” “With great loneliness,” and “Bell-like,” respectively. Tell us!
The heavy, mechanical sound in the second movement is a sonic ideal I have worked with for many years. It is meant to sound like a dirty, well-oiled machine. My other sonic ideal, which I have had my whole life, is “absolute beauty.” The music has a character that is so beautiful it almost hurts to listen to. I want the listener to think of beauty as pain because I believe it adds a certain complexity to the experience. There was also pain in me when I wrote this work. A friend who meant a great deal to my creative life passed away just as I was about to begin composing it. So there is loss and loneliness, but also a rhythmic drive that is probably typical of me. And great joy!
I have used the combination of piano and almglocken—a type of cowbell that is louder and has specific pitches—as a backbone throughout the entire piece. So even the most different movements have something in common.
How was the idea for Concerto for Orchestra born?
Exactly 30 years ago, I received my first commissioned work. It was Nordiska Kammarorkestern that commissioned it, and since then they have been like a school for me. Here in Sundsvall, I can come with almost anything and they try it, ask questions, discuss it, and challenge it. They are always curious, and we have an ongoing dialogue. A few days ago, the flutist called and said, “This is unplayable—can we fix it?” And so we did. No complaining, just dialogue. I have a great love for this orchestra. I wanted to write a tribute. In the second movement of this work, I have returned to material from a piece I wrote thirty years ago, and it is dedicated to Nordiska Kammarorkestern and Västerås Sinfonietta, who were with me then.
Why did you choose to call the work Concerto for Orchestra (and not something more imaginative or audience-friendly)?
I often choose a title to guide the listening in a certain direction, if I have fantasized along a particular path myself. But not here! This is absolute music with its own narrative. It is retrospective, because I am revisiting my music from 30 years ago, but at the same time I have experimented with completely new ways of working, such as in the fourth movement, where I have tried to stretch the harmony as far as possible without it becoming boring. It is fast, energetic music that moves forward, but nothing happens in the harmony! It was a fun exercise.
The entire work is 25 minutes long and ends in a huge climax. I think the concertgoers will leave feeling uplifted!
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Norden på Jorden: November 5: Själevad Church, Örnsköldsvik. November 6: Tonhallen in Sundsvall. Nordiska Kammarorkestern. Michael Collins, conductor.
Mersmak: November 18 at Örebro Konserthus. Svenska Kammarorkestern. Michael Collins, conductor.
Spring 2027: Västerås Sinfonietta performs Konsert för orkester.