Soup with Violin and Cello

American composer Jessie Montgomery (born 1981) draws inspiration from jazz, hip hop and rock – all natural parts of life growing up on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. She wrote Duo for Violin and Cello for one of her close friends. The piece is intended as a tribute to friendship, with the various movements portraying the bonds that connect people: laughter, compassion, adventure – and sometimes a bit of silliness.

Hungarian composer Zoltán Kodály wrote his Duo for Violin and Cello in 1914, as tensions in Europe escalated and the First World War loomed. The sense of threat is also present in the music, especially in the charged slow middle movement. Like his compatriot and friend Béla Bartók, Kodály had a deep interest in folk music, which he integrated powerfully with his own expressive and personal voice. This influence is especially evident in the wild dance of the final movement.

Anna Stefánsson has been a member of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra since 2005 and frequently appears in Konserthuset’s chamber music series. Here she is joined by Josep Castanyer Alonso – also an active chamber musician and the first graduate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra Academy to go on to win a permanent place in the orchestra, in 2019.

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Menu: Roasted bell pepper soup with chilli oil. The soup is served with sourdough bread, crispbread, butter, sparkling water/light beer, coffee/tea and a piece of chocolate. Wine and beer are available for purchase for those who wish.

All soups are lactose- and gluten-free. Please inform us of any special dietary requirements when booking.