Celebrated Violin Virtuoso Elizabeth Pitcairn Premieres Haunting New Concerto by Sweden's Top Composer for the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra

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Novalis speaks of the night as a deep longing in the human soul. Thoughts and emotions in the night are different than in the day, thus the violin concerto expresses the deepest aspects and spectra of human emotions

LOS ANGELES, CA (PRWEB) September 9, 2005

Elizabeth Pitcairn, one of America's signature virtuosos soloed in Tommie Haglund's riveting new concerto "Hymns to the Night" with the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra at the Helsingborg Konserthus under the baton of Conductor Mats Rondin on Sept. 8, at 7:30 p.m.

Haglund's passionate new work was inspired by the poem "Hymns to the Night" by German Poet, Novalis. Novalis is the pen name of Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr (Baron) von Hardenberg (1772-1801), called Friedrich von Hardenberg. The death of the poet's fiancée, Sophie von Kühn, led him to write Hymnen an die Nacht (Hymns to the Night) a set of six prose and verse lyrics first published in a literary magazine in 1800. Approximately seven months after the poem's publication, Novalis died of tuberculosis, the same malady that claimed his fiancée.

From his home in Sweden, Haglund speaks to the poem's visceral romanticism that served as his muse for several years while he wrote: "Novalis speaks of the night as a deep longing in the human soul. Thoughts and emotions in the night are different than in the day, thus the violin concerto expresses the deepest aspects and spectra of human emotions," he said. Haglund reports that it was Pitcairn's unique virtuosity that inspired him to compose this particular work.

Haglund began composing at age 11 and is considered Sweden's leading composer. He studied the classical guitar at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark and took private lessons in London with the British guitarist John Mills, who introduced him to the music of Frederick Delius. This connection is said to have been the turning point in Haglund's musical life and led to contact with Eric Fenby who had been Delius's amanuensis from 1928-34, and taught composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Haglund studied with Fenby, but was also influenced by his contact with Sven-Erik Johansson, one of Sweden's most original 20th century composers.

Pitcairn performs in partnership with the Red "Mendelssohn" Stradivarius that inspired the 1999 Academy Award winning film "The Red Violin." She played her first concerto with orchestra at age 14. In 1995 she won a major competition to solo with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and has since played the masterpieces of the violin repertoire for audiences around the world.

As to Haglund's new work, Pitcairn calls "Hymns" a hypnotizing piece. "In order to play it, one must be able to express the intensity of pain and anguish combined with great inner calm. It is unique in the fact that the work begins with a mesmerizing cadenza for violin alone, and these continue throughout. The piece draws one in, as if nothing else exists."

To request an interview with Elizabeth Pitcairn or to discuss bookings, contact Suzanne Marcus-Fletcher at Raven Ridge Media & Management. For more information on the artist, please visit www.elizabethpitcairn.com Electronic photos available upon request.

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