Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra / Kuusisto / Saraste

»At its best, music is like a force of nature that floods and fulfils a person and can change entire destinies«, says Finnish composer Outi Tarkiainen. Her work »Song of the Ice« brings the breathing ice of the Arctic to life, clinking, rumbling, squeaking and lamenting – - the perfect opening to an all-Finnish evening.

Traditional orchestra from the north
The oldest professional symphony orchestra in the Scandinavian countries, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, plays Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 1 under the direction of its chief conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste: it also gave the world premiere of this work in 1899.

Dialogue with Nordic nature and Finnish performers
The composer originally gave the movements programmatic titles such as »Musical dialogue, the wind blows cold«, »The northern fir tree« or »Winter fairy tale«. Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto is the soloist in Igor Stravinsky's Violin Concerto, composed in 1931.