Organization

Admin

Philharmonia Orchestra

Conductor

Santtu-Matias Rouvali

Others

YL Male Voice Choir

Orchestra

Instrumentalist

Stephen Hough

Piano

Singer

Mezzo-soprano

Johanna Rusanen

Kullervo's sister

Baritone

Tommi Hakala

baritone

Santtu conducts Sibelius and Grieg

London

United Kingdom

Royal Festival Hall

Santtu conducts Sibelius and Grieg: Oceans Markan Sigfúsdóttir (+2 More)

Public

Concert

Oceans

Piano Concerto in A Minor, op. 16

Kullervo

Sushant Karmakar

Approved

Our series Nordic Soundscapes gets off to a barnstorming start, with our Finnish Principal Conductor Santtu at the helm.

María Sigfúsdóttir’s Oceans is an exhilarating appetiser for the series, which focusses on Nordic composers’ relationships with the natural world. From a peaceful, meditative opening, Sigfúsdóttir’s music grows in power, evoking the swell of the ocean and the cry of the wind.

Wise and wonderful pianist Stephen Hough joins us in Grieg’s Piano Concerto, one of the most popular pieces in the orchestral repertoire. It’s brimful of passion from its opening timpani roll and crashing chords to its anthemic final moments.

Then there’s a rare opportunity to hear Sibelius’s Kullervo, with the choir who sang at its premiere back in 1892. The YL Male Voice Choir is an institution in Finland, its history closely entwined with Finnish national identity and the music of Sibelius. Kullervo, which Sibelius sometimes referred to as his first symphony, tells a story from Finland’s national epic, the Kalevala. After a tragic childhood, the eponymous Kullervo unknowingly seduces his sister, with unsurprisingly disastrous results. You can expect sweeping melodies worthy of a Hollywood epic, high drama and some seriously impressive singing.

English

Santtu conducts Sibelius and Grieg by Markan Sigfúsdóttir, Grieg, Sibelius, From (2024/2024), Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Royal Festival Hall, London, United Kingdom

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues