Programme

Sibelius Pohjola’s Daughter
Magnus Lindberg Violin Concerto No. 2 (NZ Premiere)
Sibelius Lemminkäinen Suite

Aotearoa New Zealand’s dramatic landscapes chime in kind with a country half a world away: Finland. In this concert, Arctic North meets Pacific South in a programme of heart-stirring Finnish works that resonate with audiences here.

Pietari Inkinen leads the Aotearoa New Zealand premiere of Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg’s Second Violin Concerto, with NZSO Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppänen as soloist. This duo of Finnish talent are the perfect team to evoke the work’s “massive, expansive ... panoramic vista ... of dark clouds over forests and lakes, of repressed passions and baleful desires” (Financial Times).

We pair this contemporary Finnish masterpiece with a past master. Sibelius’ Pohjola’s Daughter and Lemminkäinen Suite were both inspired by the ancient epic the Kalevala. The latter describes the mythological adventures of the wizard Väinämöinen, the hero Lemminkäinen and their entanglement with the primordial forces of nature, death and magic.