Gripping musical storytelling in Lahti

By Peter Connors, 02 September 2015

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“In Segerstam’s hands, the large orchestra made the wind howl and the air freeze”

Reviewed at Sibelius Hall, Lahti on 31 August 2015

Sibelius, Tapiola, Op.112

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

Sibelius, Lemminkäinen Suite (Four legends) for orchestra, Op.22

Sibelius, Karelia Suite: Alla Marcia

Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

Leif Segerstam, Conductor

Anu Komsi, Soprano

Premiere of Zinovjev's Taste of Metal in Helsinki

No’a L. bat Miri, 13th February

The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra offers up a double-serving of Tchaikovsky, with Hannu Lintu and Daniel Lozakovich, alongside the world premiere of Sauli Zinovjev's First Symphony.

***11

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

From darkness to light: Beethoven 9 in Helsinki

Zoltán Szabó, 18th December

The traditional end of year performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony took on extra significance in this, his 250th anniversary year.

****1

Hands across the Baltic

Matthew Rye, 22nd August

The music of Sibelius and Mahler may seem worlds apart, but this concert by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, celebrating Finland's centenary, proved that opposites can attract.

***11

Sibelius played to the manner born by the Helsinki PO

Peter Marks, 10th December

An all Sibelius concert played with precision and flair by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra fails to provide fresh insights into the composer's enigmatic works but violinist Christal Lee is a soloist to watch.

***11

Captivante visite de l’Orchestre philharmonique d’Helsinki à Bruxelles

Patrice Lieberman, 10th October

Première visite à Bruxelles de l'Orchestre philharmonique d'Helsinki depuis 1900 : sous la direction formidable de Susanna Mälkki, la phalange finlandaise a livré une performance mémorable.

****1

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Peter Connors

Peter has been attending concerts and operas enthusiastically since his parents took him to see The Mikado in Liverpool when he was a boy of ten and to a “family concert” given by the RLPO a year or so later. Peter studied Modern Languages at Worcester College, Oxford and Law in Manchester. After spending twenty years as a pensions lawyer in Manchester, he retrained as a teacher of English as a foreign language, which took him to Germany and to Serbia. With the onset of the pandemic he returned to the UK and now works online and frequents concert halls and theatres in the North West of England.