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Scandinavian musicians seem - like their Russian counterparts
- to have captured the imagination of British audiences. You
couldn't blame them for staying at home: they have fine orchestras
of their own, and, by all accounts, a jolly happy, prosperous
and environmentally friendly time. Thankfully though Scandinavian
artists do travel the world to perform, taking with them that
identifiable approach to their performances, which seems so
often sculpted by the Nordic soul, whether in music by Sibelius
or Stockhausen.
The most explicitly Norse performance in our coming season
falls on 2
May 2008 when Norwegian Sigurd
Slåttebrekk plays his countryman Grieg's Piano
Concerto. Slåttebrekk is something of a national treasure
in Norway, where he combines musical performance with work
on his own animated television series.
The Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä's
great achievement was with Finland's Lahti Symphony Orchestra,
which he transformed from a near unknown regional ensemble
into a world beating one. Vänskä returns to conduct
music by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius on 30
April 2008, and on 8
December 2007, the Violin Concerto by Carl Nielsen. Dane
Nielsen actually composed his Violin Concerto in Norway whilst
staying with the Griegs outside Bergen; its fjords and mountains
are outlined in the work's clean modal harmonies.
Jukka-Pekka Saraste is
a giant in Scandinavian music and is currently Music Director
of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra; he conducts on 20
February 2008. The Second Symphony by Sibelius is the
great evocation of Finland in music. Joseph Wolfe conducts
it on 30 May 2008.
There are also appearances from the Dane Nikolaj
Znaider, who performs the Violin Concerto by Korngold
on 14
November 2007 and from Swedish soprano Nina Stemme who
sings Strauss's Four Last Songs on 19
October 2007.
It's not a one-way street though, and neither would you blame
non-Nordic musicians for heading there for work. New Yorker
Andrew Litton who conducts our performance on 26
September 2007 is in the midst of a successful tenure
as Music Director of Norway's Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra,
whilst Russian Vassily Sinaisky, who conducts on 9
November 2007, took charge of Sweden's Malmö Symphony
Orchestra in January 2007.
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