KRONHUSET
9-12 januari 2025
After five successful festivals, Frontside returns as a much-anticipated beacon of light in the dark winter of January! The sixth edition will take place from Thursday, January 9, to Sunday, January 12, 2025, with the inspiring theme “Beyond the Horizon.”
The festival’s heart is the historic Kronhuset, but we also invite you to unique walking concerts at exciting venues. We are proud to welcome Sveriges Radio P2 as a partner for 2025. One of the festival’s highlights will be the world premiere of their commissioned work by Jonatan Sersam – an unmissable event.
Welcome!
Kronhuset, Gothenburg
Palmhuset, Slussgatan 1
Young music students from Gothenburg’s Academy of Music and Drama brighten up lunchtime with music for brass quintet.
Ludwig Maurer (*1789 †1878) Three Pieces
– Maestoso alla Marcia
– Andante con moto
– Allegro grazioso, un poco agitato
Axel Jørgensen (*1881 †1947) Quintet for Brass Instruments
Visa Från Utanmyra Trad. Arr. Inge Sund
Sjöfartsmuseet and
Gathenhielmska huset
A walking journey through Sjöfartsmuseet with a culinary and musical finale in the Gathenhielmska House.
Dedicated to the Finnish sailors who worked and gave their name to the district “Majorna” in Gothenburg.
The ticket price includes entry to Sjöfartsmuseet, as well as pea soup and punch, at the Gathenhielmska House.
At Sjöfartsmuseet you can listen to:
Sebastian Fagerlund (*1972) Sonore from Oceano for violin, viola, cello
Sebastian Fagerlund (*1972) Scherzic for violin and cello
Jaakko Kuusisto (*1976) Miniö for violin och double bass
Lotta Wennäkoski (*1970) Sinne (on a Finnish folk song) for violin, viola, cello
At around 19.45 in the Gathenhielmska House, you can listen to this while enjoying a warming Thursday tradition, pea soup with punch:
Bernhard Crusell (*1775 †1838) Quartet no 1 in E flat major for clarinet, violin, viola, cello
Kronhuset, Gothenburg
Paula af Malmborg Ward (*1962)
Open up! (Frontside’s own fanfare)
For voice, violin, clarinet, bassoon, percussion
Camille Saint-Saëns *(1835 †1921) Sonata in G major, Op. 168 for bassoon and piano
Benjamin Britten (*1913 †1976) On this island for tenor and piano (Lyrics: W. A Auden)
– Let the florid music praise!
– Now the leaves are falling fast
– Seascape
– Nocturne
– As it is, plenty
Wilhelm Stenhammar (*1871 †1927) Songs for tenor and piano
– Prins Aladin av lampan
– Fylgia
– Lycklandsresan
Elfrida Andrée (*1841 †1929) Piano Quartet in A minor
**If pre-ordered with your ticket purchase, a delicious snack (Skagen mix, red onion, rye bread crisps, and dill) with a non-alcoholic beverage will be served.
Kronhuset, Gothenburg
An atmospheric evening concert filled with mysterious melodies, including a world premiere by Jonas Bohlin. Before we bid the night farewell, pianist Peter Friis Johansson will embrace us with the beloved Gymnopédie No. 1 by Erik Satie.
Edgar Meyer (*1960) Duo for cello and double bass
Pēteris Vasks (*1946) Three Pieces for clarinet and piano
Pēteris Vasks (*1946) Bass Trip for double bass
Premiere performance
Jonas Bohlin (*1963) Solo for cello
Charles Koechlin (*1867 †1950) Sonata Op. 71 for bassoon and piano
Erik Satie (*1866 †1925) Gymnopédie No. 1 for piano
Kronhuset, Gothenburg
Rosali Grankull (*1984) Music for strings & silk
Silk as a material requires patience, as its properties are both strong and delicate. During the workshop, participants will get to know silk intimately and experience firsthand what happens when the threads are connected to string instruments. The collective work lies at the heart of this piece: collaboration and attentive listening.
Once the installation is complete, the workshop enters its next phase, where participants and composer Rosali Grankull engage in collective improvisation using the installation and a few sound objects placed around the room.
No prior knowledge is required. The workshop aims to engage participants and open doors to experimentation with just a few materials.
At 21.00, everyone gathers again to present the work during the concert Silky Night Music. During the evening concert, participants will join festival artists in an improvisation performance.
Under the direction of composer Rosali Grankull
Kronhuset, Gothenburg
An emotional journey with Baroque music performed by some of Sweden’s most prominent Baroque musicians, joined by tenor Martin Vanberg.
Élisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre (*1665 †1729) Sonata II
Antonio Vivaldi (*1678 †1741) Concerto in G minor, RV 157
Georg Friedrich Händel (*1685 †1759) Un momento, from the opera seria Alcina
Isabella Leonarda (*1620 †1704) Sonata I
Biagio Marini (5 February 1594 – 20 March 1663), Passacaglia op 22
John Dowland (*1563 †1626) Flow my tears
Jean-Féry Rebel (*1666 †1747) Les caractères de la danse
Kronhuset, Gothenburg
Olivier Messiaen (*1908 †1992) Appel interstellaire from Des Canyons aux Etoiles (From the Canyons to the Stars) for solo horn
“From the canyons to the stars… This means rising from the depths of the canyons up to the stars – and even higher up to the resurrected of paradise – to praise God and the fullness of his creations: the beauties of the earth (its rocks, its birdsongs), the beauties of the visible sky, the beauties of the spiritual sky.”
Olivier Messiaen: Preface to the score of Des Canyons aux étoiles …
Massimiliano Matesic (*1969) Il silenzio delle sirene for bassoon and piano
To protect himself from the sea creatures, the seductive song of the sirens, Odysseus put wax in his ears and allowed himself to be forged into the mast. But the sirens have an even more terrible weapon than their song: their silence. Although it has not happened, it is perhaps conceivable that someone could have saved themselves from their song – but from their silence, absolutely not.
Carl Nielsen (*1865 †1931) Serenata in vano for clarinet, bassoon, french horn, cello, double bass
Franz Schubert (*1797 †1828) Trout Quintet in A Major, Op. post. 114 D 667 for piano, violin, viola, cello, double bass
**If pre-ordered with your ticket purchase, a delicious snack (cured salmon, marinated potatoes, horseradish, and radish) with a non-alcoholic beverage will be served.
Kronhuset, Gothenburg
Rosali Grankull (*1984) Music for strings & silk
Kronhuset, Gothenburg
After the success in 2023, The Story of a City returns. For those who missed it, or those who want to see it again!
A personally created performance where the history of Gothenburg is described through text and music from various eras.
The well-known Ayla Kabaca (Bolibompa, etc.) vividly tells the story of the people who have built, influenced, or impacted the city of Gothenburg: Dutch, Scots, English, West Goths, Turks, Bohuslänners, Chinese, Norwegians – yes, people from near and far, children and the elderly, women and men, short and tall, happy and angry. Gothenburg Combo enhances all impressions with music that tells of the city’s diverse history: Dutch 17th-century music by the flutist Jacob van Eyck, Scottish songs from the 1700s in the Italian version of Barsanti, music by Elfrida André, Bedrich Smetana, Carl Michael Bellman, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Dietrich Buxtehude, Isaac Albéniz, Evert Taube, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Giacchino Rossini, and Håkan Hellström, American folk music and Steve Reich with connections to the great American ships, traditional Chinese music that the East Indiamen may have heard on their journeys in the 1700s, and Spanish music they heard during their stopover in Cadiz, where they traded for silver.
Café Kronhuset, Gothenburg
Note! New start time!
Get to know the award-winning composer Jonatan Sersam, who talks about his new work Rain Heart Hammer for clarinet, violin, viola, and cello, which will be premiered at the final concert. A commissioned work by Sveriges Radio.
We settle down in the café and listen to the conversation, perhaps over a cup of coffee, just before the final concert begins.
Kronhuset, Gothenburg
Benjamin Britten (*1913 †1976) Folk songs for tenor and piano
– The Sally Gardens
– The last rose of summer
– Oliver Cromwell
Jonatan Sersam (*1986)
Rain Heart Hammer for clarinet, violin, viola, cello
Premiere performance
Commissioned by Swedish Radio
Sebastian Fagerlund Woodlands for bassoon
Jean Sibelius (*1865 †1957) Four Pieces for violin and piano Op. 115
Benjamin Britten (*1913 †1976) Lyrics: Edith Sitwell (*1887 †1964)
Canticle III: Still falls the rain Op.55 for tenor, horn, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven (*1770 †1827) Septet E flat major Op. 20 for clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello, double bass
**If pre-ordered with your ticket purchase, a delicious snack (Swedish farm chicken, roasted corn cream, wild garlic emulsion, and semi-dried tomato) with a non-alcoholic beverage will be served.
Frontside Chamber Music Association has existed since 2019 and is largely driven by volunteer efforts, but we are highly dependent on additional financial sponsors and fundings. All contributions are used to engage fantastic musicians, rents of venues and all other things that make the festival a magical experience.
If you are interested in chamber music that goes beyond the ordinary, you should become a member! As a member, you are invited to the association’s annual meeting and participate in electing the board. You can also suggest activities for the association, thereby influencing future festivals and other events we organize. You also have the opportunity to volunteer during the festival, allowing you to enjoy wonderful chamber music without paying an entrance fee.
How do I become a member and support Frontside? Submit your information in the form below and pay the membership fee, and we will register you as a member immediately. Please also indicate which chamber music you love the most. Together with your personal information, this helps us better understand who our members are. How we handle your information can be read under the GDPR section.
You renew your membership every fall term – we’ll remind you! Alternatively, you can purchase a lifetime membership and thus become a permanent member with a one-time fee.
If you join as a new member in the spring, your payment also covers the following year’s membership.
How do I do it and what does it cost? You can pay the membership fee to Bankgiro 5318-7969 or via Swish 123 356 63 95. Always include your name and, if paying via bankgiro, your mobile number.
Welcome as a member!
For requests, feedback, and additional information, fill in your message in the form at the bottom or send an email to info@frontside-festival.se
The General Data Protection Regulation, GDPR, came into force within the EU on May 25, 2018.
How does Frontside handle its membership register? In our membership register, we store your name, address details, email address, phone number, and birth year. If you leave the association, we will retain your information for a maximum of seven (7) years before deleting it.
Who has access to my information? We register your details digitally in our membership register. Only you (first party) and individuals with trusted roles in the association (second party) have access to your information. No information is shared with third parties.
You can request to see what information we have collected about you at any time.
Validity? By becoming a member of the association, you enter into an agreement regarding which information about you can be stored with us and who has access to this information, as described above. This agreement is valid indefinitely, as long as you are a member of the Frontside Chamber Music Association.
Do I have the right to have my information deleted? According to GDPR, you have the right to have your information deleted, but you will also lose your membership in the association. To request this, send an email to info@frontside-festival.se and ask for your stored information to be deleted.
