Work: Violin Concerto in D major

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

Familiar and unfamiliar Sibelius, a coruscating violin concerto and a recent score by Caroline Shaw are the elements of Dalia Stasevska’s noteworthy debut.

By the close of the performance, one sensed that the audience’s exhilaration stemmed less from polished execution and more from a shared immersion in the music’s dramatic arc—elements that lingered as the defining memory of this eventful evening.