The Royal Swedish Orchestra

From having been a royal institution under Gustav Vasa, the orchestra has been at the heart of the Royal Opera since its inception in 1773, bringing together all its disciplines. The orchestra is normally found in the orchestra pit between the main stage and the stalls. But like the Royal Swedish Opera Chorus, members of the orchestra also participate in lunch concerts and at surprise events. The Royal Swedish Opera music director and international conductor Alan Gilbert is head of the Royal Swedish Orchestra since 2021. Below you can hear him speak about his career, the profession of conducting and working with the Royal Swedish Orchestra.

The world-renowned conductor and Royal Court Kapellmeister Alan Gilbert divides his time between Stockholm, where he is Music Director of the Royal Swedish Opera, and Hamburg, where he is Chief Conductor of the Elbphilharmonie Orchestra.

Since conducting his first performance as Music Director of the Royal Swedish Orchestra – Wagner’s Die Walküre in 2021 – he has led the orchestra in nearly 100 performances and concerts. How does he reflect on the journey he has made together with the orchestra over these years?

“I think journey is a good word to use to describe what we are experiencing,” says Alan Gilbert. “When you work as a music director with an orchestra, it really is about the long-term perspective.” He continues: “I see my job as very much a combination of trying to deliver excellent performances on a daily basis, but also working on the long-term development of the orchestra… There are certain ways of listening to each other… things in terms of sound and balance and flexibility and reaction that simply take time.”

The Royal Swedish Orchestra’s 500th anniversary has been celebrated since the beginning of the year, with a rich programme of concerts. This summer, the orchestra embarks on a European tour, featuring music by Wagner and Stenhammar. The tour concludes on the Royal Swedish Opera’s main stage, with Court Singer Nina Stemme as soloist. “I’m very proud to do a tour,” says Gilbert. “I think it’s one of the things that orchestras do that pushes the artistic level the most. It’s also great for team building and the spirit. And fundamentally I’m proud to share what we’re doing with wider audiences.”

Wagner’s musical world lies at the heart of the programme – music with which the orchestra has a special affinity. “What I’ve felt… and had confirmed over and over again is the orchestra’s deep affinity with the music of Wagner – a real deep understanding of the world, sound world, the style,” says Gilbert. “It really is because I feel like there’s a real chemistry with the orchestra.”

The concert also includes Wilhelm Stenhammar’s Serenade. “It’s a masterpiece,” says Gilbert. “I really think it’s Stenhammar’s best piece… It’s got this kind of bustling activity… but also these kind of Nordic expanses that stretch out over time. It’s for me the quintessential Swedish work.”

In September, Alan Gilbert conducts Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring alongside two works by Benjamin Britten: "Four Sea Interludes" from Peter Grimes and the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. “Sometimes you just get a feeling for pieces that can work together,” he says. “The Rite of Spring is a piece that comes around regularly and I love doing it.”

The anniversary year concludes with a concert in which Alan Gilbert brings audiences closer to his musical homeland. In From Gershwin to Bernstein, the Royal Swedish Orchestra performs music by Copland, Barber, Bernstein and Gershwin. “It is, actually,” says Gilbert, when asked if this is a way of sharing American music. “I like doing Bernstein and Gershwin together… They’re just total masterpieces and I think deserve to be in the classical music canon.”

He describes this repertoire as a particular art form in itself: “There are stylistic questions that are as important for that music as, say, stylistic questions in Mozart are. There’s a kind of ‘un-write-downable’ timing and natural jazz swing feel that is hard to realise and fun to work on.” He adds: “It’s a side of my music persona that I haven’t shown here yet.”

For Alan Gilbert, the anniversary year is both a tribute to the orchestra’s history and a way of looking ahead. “It’s an honour to be part of that long, long history,” he says. “We have to view everything as an opportunity – an opportunity to refine how we play music and how we connect to the city.”