Göteborgs Konserthus New ‘Dances from Fairytale’ by Adès, with Kuusisto

Event has already taken place. Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali conductor, Pekka Kuusisto violin

Concert length: 1 h 30 min no intermission Scene: Stora salen
365-525 SEK Student 183-262 SEK

Event has already taken place

As the first Finnish violinist ever, the phenomenal Pekka Kuusisto won first prize in the prestigious Sibelius Competition in 1995. It was also the start of his international solo career. Here we meet him as a soloist together with Santtu-Matias Rouvali and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in two works: Thomas Adès’ fresh Märchentänze (‘Dances from Fairytale’) for violin and orchestra and Vaughan Williams’ both melancholy and joyful The Lark Ascending. Sibelius’ fascinating and enigmatic Symphony No. 4 concludes the concert.

Pekka Kuusisto’s artistry is inspiring and innovative. Some of you may have already witnessed him during the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra’s moon landing concert in the autumn of 2019, when he was projected on the surface of the moon while playing. Here’s an example of his personal and heartfelt relationship with music and his fellow musicians.

Vaughan Williams’ floating idyll The Lark Ascending has its roots in English folk music; nature poetry and ethereal beauty side by side with rural dance rhythms.

The latter source is also explored by the Englishman Thomas Adès in his Märchentänze (“Fairy Tale Dances”) whose four movements are inspired by English folk tunes. The movement A Sky Lark is a collage of lively birdsong where the orchestral instruments’ imitations sing freely with the soloist. The impression is of an “exaltation” of skylarks, as can be heard in the hills and fields of England in the spring”.

The concert rounds off with Sibelius’ fourth symphony, and here we enter historic ground. The symphony has been on the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra’s repertoire for over 100 years, and the orchestra has gained insights from its highest authority: the composer himself. In 1915, he conducted the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra at a performance in the Concert Hall at Heden: “The joy of playing under the personal guidance of the genius composer, and interpreting his rich and interesting compositions, created a great urge in the playing and an animated eagerness to stretch all limits, which also resulted in extremely beautiful achievements.”

This tradition is kept alive with the orchestra’s chief conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, who with the enigmatic and moving fourth symphony continues his journey through the composer’s symphonies. A recording is being made by French Alpha Classics, whose previous Sibelius editions have been hailed by the international press.

No introduction to the concert

In the autumn of 2021, we will not give any introductions to the concerts due to the pandemic. Comments on the current programme for this particular concert can be found in connection with the names of the works under the heading Programme on this page (in swedish). You will get even more angles and keys to classical music in the concert magazine Podiet (in swedish) and the lecture series Classical Curiosities at GSOplay (in english).

Programme

Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending 13 min

Adès Märchentänze 15 min

Sibelius Symphony No 4 38 min

Participants



Pekka Kuusisto violin

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