John Storgårds / Wen Xiao Zheng

Beethoven moved the world with his symphonies in particular – and continues to do so today. It is astonishing that he composed only one opera, yet even here he brought his ideals to life: truth, freedom and justice. Its name was not originally »Fidelio« but »Leonore«, and we will perform one of the four overtures from 1806, which captures the key moments of the plot in music. This is followed by a brand-new concerto from the Finnish homeland of our guest conductor John Storgårds: the composition is by Osmo Tapio Räihälä, who started out as a rock musician and now offers entirely new sonic and listening experiences with his extraordinary works, which, in his own words, always feature a »powerful pulse«. He wrote his viola concerto specifically for our principal violist, Wen Xiao Zheng. This is followed by music penned by the Polish-British composer Andrzej Panufnik, whose musical creations sought to strike a balance »between emotion and intellect«. With the piece QLandscape«, premiered in 1965, we present an atmospheric orchestral stroll through the countryside. This musical excursion is extended by a work by Sibelius, who regarded Beethoven as a great role model and was even considered to be an equal symphonist by contemporary critics. The late Romantic national composer was wonderfully accomplished at translating the vastness of Finland’s forests and lakes into sound – and remarked of his Sixth Symphony from 1923 that »pure spring water« flowed through it.