SWEDISH RHAPSODY
This concert is an armchair journey into the heart of Sweden; a celebration of Sweden's inspiring beauty and a glimpse into the landscape of the Swedish soul in words and music. Music for solo piano by Wilhelm Stenhammar, Wilhelm Peterson-Berger, Ture Rangström, Ingmar Milveden and Nils Lindberg is interspersed with descriptions of the Swedish countryside, Viking poetry and reminiscences by the composers. It finishes with a medley called "The Swedish Flag" which includes beloved melodies Sverige, Ack Värmeland, Du Gamla, du Fria and more.
"I'm an American with roots deep in the Swedish countryside," Roberta Swedien says "for which I'm extremely grateful. This music speaks to me with a strangely familiar voice. It feels so right. It is music of earth and water and heart and mind."
“Her beautiful and sensitive interpretations perfectly mirrored what, in the art of the period, is often referred to as ‘Nordic Light’.”