Looking back at the future of epic music: Rouvali brings Kullervo to Gothenburg

The precise control of Santu-Matthias Rouvali yields a reference Symphonie fantastique from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra; the Sibelius Violin Concerto is less convincing.

The program prominently featured compositions by Canadian composer Claude Vivier alongside works of Haydn and Busoni.

Singing as well as conducting, Barbara Hannigan leads the GSO in symphonies by Haydn and Mahler. 

Saraste’s mastery in Sibelius is hardly a surprise, and neither is the calibre of the orchestra Sibelius himself often visited to conduct.

Baritone Peter Mattei brought both musical sensitivity as well as almost Berg-ian drama to Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, ably supported by Manfred Honeck and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, in a successful livestream concert. 

In which Santtu-Matias Rouvali and the Gothenburg Symphony seek out a contrast with the dark sound colours of Sibelius.