Icy blast: total immersion into the world of Sibelius, the storyteller

Anu Komsi, Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Orchestra

Ólafur Darri Ólafsson

Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra

By Mark Pullinger, 09 October 2022

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“Oramo is a master Sibelian, knowing this rugged terrain like the back of his hand”

Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 9 October 2022

Sibelius, Scènes historiques no. 1 - suite for orchestra, Op.25 (All'Overtura)

Sibelius, En Saga, a symphonic poem for orchestra, Op.9

Sibelius, Barden (The Bard), symphonic poem for orchestra, Op.64

Sibelius, Pohjola's Daughter, Op.49

Sibelius, Night Ride and Sunrise, Op.55

Sibelius, Kaiutar (The Echo-Nymph), Op.72 no.4

Sibelius, Soluppgång (Sunrise), Op.37 no.3

Sibelius, Luonnotar, symphonic poem for soprano and orchestra, Op.70

Sibelius, Tapiola, Op.112

Sakari Oramo, Conductor

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Actor

Anu Komsi, Soprano

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Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 9 October 2022

Sibelius, Night Ride and Sunrise, Op.55

Sibelius, Kaiutar (The Echo-Nymph), Op.72 no.4

Sibelius, Soluppgång (Sunrise), Op.37 no.3

Sibelius, Luonnotar, symphonic poem for soprano and orchestra, Op.70

Sibelius, Tapiola, Op.112

Anu Komsi, Soprano

BBC Symphony Orchestra

Sakari Oramo, Conductor

Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Actor

Sakari Oramo, Yeol Eum Son and the BBC Symphony in Seoul

SangKwon Lee, 26th March

Yeol Eum Son’s Britten Piano Concerto formed the evening’s centre of gravity, played with lucid line, structural command and sudden fire. In Brahms’ Second Symphony, Sakari Oramo found conviction, proportion and a warmth that felt earned rather than applied.

****1

Sakari Oramo and Yeol Eum Son summon up vivid landscapes

Christopher Woodley, 13th March

Yeol Eum Son's superb performances of Bartók and Finzi are matched by intense and heady readings of Stravinsky and Weir by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo.

****1

From snow to sludge: Icelandic music at the Barbican Centre

Marat Ingeldeev, 22nd February

A bewildering evening at the Barbican, where ambitious Icelandic programming collapses under its lofty ambition of defying genres and making music more appealing to a wide variety of audiences.

**111

Fine Lindberg and Stravinsky double bill from the BBC Symphony

Roy Westbrook, 6th February

After a performance of Magnus Lindberg’s First Violin Concerto by Lisa Batiashvili at the Barbican, Stravinsky’s Perséphone stands the test of time.

****1

UK premiere of Julia Wolfe’s unEarth impresses on scale, not substance

Susannah Moody, 23rd January

Wolfe's climate-change oratorio, performed by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, already feels out of date.

**111

Sir James MacMillan delights with his Christmas Oratorio

David Karlin, 19th December

MacMillan's large scale choral work offers a rich variety of texts and musical ideas, the composer conducts the BBC Symphony with unerring precision.

*****

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

Icy blast: Oramo’s Total Immersion into the world of Sibelius, the storyteller