Four soft beats of the timpani invite the listener to take part in Beethoven’s violin concerto. The soloist is the brilliant Swedish violinist Ava Bahari, whose path has taken her from Suzuki lessons to solo performances with the world's top orchestras.
When Montreal turned 375, it received its own symphony from composer Samy Moussa. The city’s motto ‘Concordia salus’ contains the idea of salvation through harmony.
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) wrote his only violin concerto at considerable speed in 1806 for the Austrian virtuoso Franz Clement. He completed the score only two days before the premiere in Vienna, so the soloist had to sight read it. Judging from the reviews, Clement improvised between the movements, and also played a piece of his own holding his violin upside down. One critic wrote: “As regards Beethoven’s concerto, the verdict of the experts is unanimous; while they acknowledge that it contains some fine things, they agree that the continuity often seems to be completely disrupted, and that the endless repetition of a few commonplace passages could easily prove wearisome.” The second performance was not until 1844. This time the soloist was the young Joseph Joachim, and the concerto has since become one of the cornerstones of the violin concerto repertoire. The solo part is far from easy, yet it is melodic and warmly appealing rather than excessively virtuosic. Beethoven did not himself provide a cadenza.
Christian Holmqvist
Says HPO Composer-in-Residence Samy Moussa (b. 1984):
“Concordia refers to the motto of Montreal, “Concordia salus”, which in English means “wellbeing through harmony”. Harmony, the union of hearts, a metaphor for the orchestra and for music, seemed like a good adjective to describe this composition. I wanted all four movements to be very different but unified by neighbouring harmonic processes and a fairly noble expression. The first movement, long and slow, requires only woodwind, strings and timpani; this gives it a homogenous sound that directs listening towards the harmony and lines rather than the orchestration. The second movement is a complete contrast with the entrance of percussion, piano and harp. With regard to time, there is an ambivalence between musical time without any rhythm punctuated with outbursts and lively, rhythmic moments. The third (and longest) movement, Nocturne, is at the heart of the piece; it is slow and solemn. The fourth and final movement follows the others attacca towards a fast-paced music where melodies are put on top of each other over and over until an explosion and a pause in time, to later rediscover a new kind of excitement that culminates in a bold and conclusive ending.”
Violinist Ava Bahari (born 1996 in Sweden) is Artist in Residence with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in the 2024–2025 season.
Bahari has performed with renowned orchestras internationally and collaborated with conductors such as Ryan Bancroft, Pekka Kuusisto, and Santtu-Matias Rouvali. She has given recitals in Germany, Italy, and South Korea, and is a keen chamber musician. In 2024–2025, Bahari will perform as a soloist with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
Pekka Kuusisto (b. 1976) is one of Finland’s most renowned musicians. At the commencement of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2024/25 concert season, Kuusisto began his second year as Principal Guest Conductor. Additionally, as Co-Artistic director, he is a member of the Artistic Leadership Team responsible for planning the programme. As he states, 'We offer both long perspectives and flashes of inspiration, both safety and fun.' In the HPO’s concerts, Pekka Kuusisto will perform as a soloist, conductor, and also as a player-director at the front of the orchestra with his violin.
Pekka Kuusisto’s career as a solo artist took off in 1995 when he won the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition at the age of 19. Since then, he has toured concert halls around the world. Kuusisto’s repertoire spans classical music to modern experiments. He improvises and composes, readily intertwining music with other art forms, aiming to make concerts more accessible and engaging for the audience.
In addition to Helsinki, he frequents Oslo (Norwegian Chamber Orchestra), Bremen (Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie), and San Francisco (San Francisco Symphony).
| Violin 1 Pekka Kauppinen Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä Eija Hartikainen Katariina Jämsä Kati Kuusava Helmi Kuusi Elina Lehto Jani Lehtonen Kari Olamaa Petri Päivärinne Kalinka Pirinen Harry Rayner Angeles Salas Salas Satu Savioja Elina Viitasaari Alexis Mauritz Violin 2 Kamran Omarli Teija Kivinen Teppo Ali-Mattila Eva Ballaz Heini Eklund Dhyani Gylling Matilda Haavisto Anna-Maria Huohvanainen Siiri Rasta Serguei Gonzalez Pavlova Kaija Lukas Aino Szalai Violetta Varo Viola Atte Kilpeläinen Torsten Tiebout Lotta Poijärvi Petteri Poijärvi Tuomas Huttunen Kaarina Ikonen Ulla Knuuttila Mariette Reefman Markus Sallinen Hajnalka Standi-Pulakka Maarit Holkko Tuukka Susiluoto Cello Tuomas Ylinen Beata Antikainen Jaakko Rajamäki Jaani Helander Veli-Matti Iljin Ilmo Saaristo Saara Särkimäki Johannes Välja Tommi Wesslund Arthur Daems Bass Ville Väätäinen Eero Ignatius Venla Lahti Tomi Laitamäki Josh Lambert Adrian Rigopulos Henri Dunderfelt Miranda Erlich | Flute Päivi Korhonen Jenny Villanen Saara Lehtinen Oboe Hannu Perttilä Jussi Jaatinen Nils Rõõmussaar Clarinet Anna-Maija Korsimaa Heikki Nikula Niina Selin Bassoon Markus Tuukkanen Marcus Bottet Tuukka Vihtkari Horn Ville Hiilivirta Mika Paajanen Joonas Seppelin Ida Holm Olaussen Trumpet Thomas Bugnot Michael Olsen Mika Tuomisalo Trombone Valtteri Malmivirta Anu Fagerström Joni Taskinen Tuba Ilkka Marttila Timpani Tomi Wikström Percussion Xavi Castelló Aràndiga Pasi Suomalainen Pietari Huhtinen Veli-Heikki Parviainen Harp Anni Kuusimäki Minnaleena Jankko Keyboard Anna Kuvaja Ville Urponen |
Yes, but only before or after the concert. During the concert we just want you to enjoy the music. This way you won’t disturb the musicians or other audience members.
Only the orchestra has a dress code. You can dress as you like.
You can give the ticket to a friend or donate it to a music student by calling 09-3102 2700 or sending an e-mail to helsinki.philharmonic@hel.fi by 3pm on the day of the concert.
