From 23rd to 28th August 1973 several bank employees were held hostage in vaults of the Kreditbank at Norrmalmstorg in Stockholm, Sweden. During this time the victims of this siege began to express empathy and sympathy for their captors, a psychological phenomenon that has since become known as the ‘Stockholm Syndrome’. These very unique circumstances combined with the intensity of the experience seem to have had a remarkable effect on the victims.
Some forty years later we formed the Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble, with the hope of creating programmes that would give our audiences a healthier dose of Stockholm Syndrome; once we have captured them, we aim to offer them an opportunity to hear music set in a surprising and illuminating context and hopefully to heighten their listening experience.
Whilst not bound by size, style or genre, most of our concerts include the founding group of players. Often the programmes are built around an event, idea or concept. This narrative or thread (sometimes unspoken in the form of images and sometimes spoken in film and voice) allow us to compare and contrast music across all periods and styles. As a result we have performed music from Purcell to Bob Dylan and Messiaen to Radiohead collaborating with musicians such as Margareta Bengtson, Olivia Chaney, Sebastien Dubé, Katarina Henryson, Svante Henryson, Gustav Lindgren, Ale Möller, Anne Sofie von Otter, Lisa Rydberg and juggler Jay Gilligan.
The ensemble has performed at the Delft, Riihimäki, Turku and Trondheim festivals and is a resident ensemble at the Change Music Festival in Sweden. It has been the subject of a documentary for Swedish TV and has its own concert series at Konserthuset in Stockholm.
For further information, please visit the Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble's website.
