Stefan Solyom to conduct the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, when they perform a new cantata Bögtåget with tenor soloist Rickard Söderberg

On 26 May 2018, Stefan Solyom will conduct the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra in Helsingborg, when they perform a new cantata Bögtåget (The Fag Train), with tenor soloist Rickard Söderberg. The piece is a response to a letter that arrived at the Concert Hall in spring accusing the HSO of ‘hopping aboard the fag train' for performing work by homosexual and bisexual composers. Bögtåget has been written by composer Fredrik Österling and will be performed by tenor soloist Rickard Söderberg.

Österling, composer and general manager of the HSO, says:  ‘As an artistic institution, we naturally relate to our surroundings and the events going on around us. The hate letter I received reeked of contempt and fear for the love between human beings. I had no hesitation when Rickard Söderberg suggested that I should set it to music. By considering the text as an opera libretto, we were able to scrutinise the emotions that the anonymous sender was seeking to express. And at the same time, we are doing exactly what an artistic institution should be doing; we are reflecting our times in our art.’