Pekka Kuusisto: Bach and electronic improvisations

By Emily Owen, 21 February 2013

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Reviewed at Kings Place: Hall Two, London on 18 February 2013

Bach, Violin partita no. 2 in D minor, BWV1004 (Improvisations based on chorales and Finnish funeral tunes)

Pekka Kuusisto, Electric violin

Saraste and the Helsinki Philharmonic in Hamburg

Mengguang Huang, 22nd November

The Helsinki Philharmonic’s winter visit to Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie offers a vivid portrait of Finnish musical identity at its most compelling.

****1

Musical resilience from Kuusisto and Barruk at the BBC Proms

Nick Boston, 31st August

An eclectic programme including evocative Sámi joiks from and powerful Shostakovich performed from memory by the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra.

****1

From the Pacific Coast to Nordic landscapes at Tanglewood

Edward Sava-Segal, 13th July

Textures, tensions and transformations across musical perspectives imbue the Tanglewood programme Thomas Adès inherited from Esa-Pekka Salonen.

****1

Salonen brings Bryce Dessner's Violin Concerto to the LA Philharmonic

Cameron Kelsall, 4th May

Leading his former orchestra and soloist Pekka Kuusisto, Esa-Pekka Salonen bookends his San Francisco commission with two crowd-pleasers from the standard repertory.

****1

Kuusisto and Crawford-Phillips bring New Dimensions to SCO

David Smythe, 14th March

Pekka Kuusisto and Simon Crawford-Phillips lead the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in a musical arc featuring works by Britten, Adès, Andres, Beamish and Haydn.

****1

Kuusisto and the SCO in Anna Clyne and Helen Grime premieres

David Smythe, 14th March

Pekka Kuusisto and the SCO burst with energy in UK premieres from Anna Clyne and Helen Grime with soprano Ruby Hughes.

*****

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Emily Owen

A postgraduate student at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama specialising in early music, Emily Owen is a freelance soprano, singing with numerous ensembles. She deputises in churches around London and also manages the newly formed London Youth Choir. Her website is here.