Networks, hierarchies, organisms, rituals, ecosystems, trust, dependency relationships. The Musica nova Helsinki festival explores everything that can happen between individuals – for example, in a symphony orchestra, a community where musicians together create a richly resonant musical world. The composers featured in this concert each approach the layers of the orchestra, instrument groups, timbres, textures and intonations in their own way.
Violinist Carolin Widmann (born 1976, Munich) is famous for her explorative and infectious approach to contemporary music, and her activities span the great classical concerti, chamber music, period instrument performances, solo recitals, and conducting from the violin.
In the 2024–2025 season, Widmann’s debuts include the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. She also performs with the Orquestra Sinfònica de Barcelona, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris, and the SWR Symphonieorchester.
Widmann has been professor of violin at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig since 2006. She is artist-in-residence at the Fondazione Arturo Toscanini in 2024–2025. Widmann was named Artist of the Year at the 2013 International Classical Music Awards. According to the ICMA website, she has become ”one of the outstanding – and most uncompromising – musical personalities of our age”.
German conductor André de Ridder (born 1971) is General Music Director of the Theater Freiburg. He is sought after by orchestras and opera houses worldwide and acclaimed for his genre-defying projects and extraordinary versatility, spanning baroque, contemporary, and pop. De Ridder’s projects and collaborations bring him to internationally renowned orchestras, and in opera, he has conducted several world premieres. From 2017 to 2021, de Ridder served as Artistic Director of Musica Nova Helsinki.
In the 2024–2025 season, de Ridder returns to the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and also performs with ensembles such as the BBC Concert Orchestra, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Lyon, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich.
André de Ridder studied in Berlin, Vienna, and London under Leopold Hager and Sir Colin Davis, among others.
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.
