Programme notes:

The monumental Concerto per organo ed orchestra, (Sinfonia Concertante), was commissioned by the Royal Stockholm Filharmonic Orchestra and was completed in 1988. In this organ concerto there is an even greater differentiation of the sound spectrum and a more open and spacious style. Nilsson also developes what he calls an intuitive method of working, which means that the musical material is allowed to develop according to its own laws and logic with regard to detail as well as to the work as a whole. According to the composer this takes place both on a conscious and on an unconscious level simultaneously during the creative process, i.e. the conscious calculations and decisions that are made in the course of composing are still based on an intuitive attitude to the musical material which from the outset is limited. In the organ concerto the melodic and harmonic material can thus be traced back to the opening chored in the horn, trombones and lower strings. In many respects the form of the concerto is classical, with three movements which are proportionately well-balanced in relation to each other. In the first movement a battle is fought between two orchestras - or two gigantic bodies of sound - the orchestra and the organ. The music is predominantly dramatic and riot without ecstatic elements, due to its chromatic character. To a large degree the second movement is built up of different timbres, beginning with an extended organ solo with a disembodied sound quality that resembles a circle, a never-ending breath. This unsubstantial state of micro-tonal intervals is created with the help of a so-called "wind-ab" stop which reduces the current of air to the great organ, thereby affecting the pitch in relation to the other manuals. In this movement musical processes are repeated, like dream sequences that are projected from different angles; one recognizes the music but each time the experience takes on a new form. The battle that was fought in the first movement has now subsided - a respite for rest from each other. One last dream seqtience leads into the final i-novenient, where the organ and the orchestra in amicaIble partnership recreate episodes which are mainly taken from the opening section. Despite pronouncedly diatonic harmonies and highly significant rhythmic patterns, the work is brought to a close with mystical and fragmentary gestures. There is in fact no conclusive end... Text: Thomas Roth. Ur Phono Suecia nr 53 (1993)