Love and death at Berwaldhallen

What would music have sounded like had we not had love and death to be inspired by?

One thing is certain: we would never have got to hear some amazing works. Would Richard Wagner have written his Tristan and Isolde if the young couple had simply been friends?

And Liebeslieder-Walzer for mixed voices and four hands would not have seen the light of day unless Johannes Brahms had been in love with the composer Clara Schumann.

What about Arnold Schönberg? Had he not fallen so deeply in love with his music teacher’s sister, Mathilde Zemlinksy, and had Richard Dehmel not written the poem Verkärte Nacht, with its tolerant message about love before marriage, what would have become of Schönberg’s eponymous work? Most likely nothing.

If we for a moment imagine that we are all immortal, and that Gustav Mahler is still among us, would he have found it meaningful to write the Resurrection Symphony?

No, love and death are omnipresent. No one wants to forego love, even when it is painful, and not many people are likely to want to live forever. Creating art that reaches those who come after us is perhaps the closest we will get to immortality.

The 2024/2025 season at the Swedish Radio concert hall Berwaldhallen includes a wealth of wonderful works, inspired by our two constant companions. View the complete programme and book your tickets below.

Welcome!