Resurrection

Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”

Gustav Mahler (1860–1911) was one of the last great Romantic composers and, together with Anton Bruckner, grew the symphony to mammoth proportions. His first symphony lasted a whole hour, and his second was scored for no fewer than 42 wind players, organ and percussion and a huge string section, to say nothing of a mixed choir and two vocal soloists. The second symphony became generally known as The Resurrection – a word taken from the text for the final chorus.

The second symphony took Mahler over six years to write. The movements were initially stand-alone works, and not linked together until he had finished all but the finale. In programmatic terms they proceed from the gates of death to life eternal, from a funeral march to resurrection. The first movement began life as a symphonic poem titled Totenfeier (Funeral Rites). In the symphony, Mahler requested five minutes’ silence, as a sort of cleansing before the next movement, but this request is seldom honoured today. The next two movements draw on the collection of folk poems Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy’s Magic Horn) much loved by Mahler. The flowing scherzo is an expanded orchestral version of the song Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredig (St Anthony of Padua Preaches to the Fish), and the fourth, Urlicht (Primal Light), was originally for piano and voice.

While writing the symphony’s finale, Mahler was deeply shocked by the death of his friend Hans von Bülow. He was so closely beset by questions of the other world, everlasting life and the divinity that he wanted his symphony to provide answers and consolation. The finale is in two parts; the first develops and remembers earlier themes, while in the second the choir and soloists sing of everlasting life to the words of the poet Klopstock. The symphony ends with a mighty build-up that breaks the bonds of life and death, transfigured by universal, primal light.

Mireille Lebel

Canadian mezzo-soprano Mireille Lebel grew up in Vancouver and is based in Berlin. She sings leading roles for lyric mezzo in opera houses internationally and has worked as a soloist with conductors Jonathan Darlington, Christoph Eschenbach, Bernard Labadie, Jacques Lacombe, Joana Mallwitz, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Hervé Niquet. Lebel regularly performs works by Samy Moussa, the current Composer-in-Residence for the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

Before residing in Berlin, Lebel was a member of the Theater Erfurt ensemble for five years. Since then, she has worked as a freelance artist in Europe and North America, where her collaborations include Opera Atelier, Národní divadlo Praha, Theater Basel, Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole, Opéra national de Lorraine, Opéra de Nice, the Vancouver Opera, Schwetzingen SWR Festspiele, Aix-en-Provence Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Les Violons du Roy, Collegium 1704, and the Houston Symphony.

Mireille graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto and a Master of Music from l’Université de Montréal.

Helena Juntunen

Finnish soprano Helena Juntunen (born 1976) has for over two decades performed globally as a soloist with notable orchestras and in major opera roles. With the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Juntunen last appeared in the spring of 2024 as one of the soloists in Gustav Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand.

Juntunen has performed in the Nordic countries, including Iceland, as well as in the United States, Canada, Japan, and extensively throughout Central Europe. She has collaborated with renowned conductors, such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Colin Davis, Mikko Franck, Daniel Harding, René Jacobs, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Leif Segerstam, John Storgårds, and Osmo Vänskä. On opera stages, Juntunen has appeared at venues such as Aix-en-Provence, Brussels, Connecticut, Dresden, Geneva, Genoa, Ilmajoki, Savonlinna, Strasbourg, and Vienna. She has been a regular guest artist at the Finnish National Opera since 1999.

Helena Juntunen is a graduate of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.

Helsinki Music Centre Chorus

The Helsinki Music Centre Chorus (Musiikkitalon kuoro) is a symphonic choir of around 130 singers that can, when needed, reconfigure as a male or female ensemble. Founded in 2011 on the initiative of conductors Hannu Lintu, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and John Storgårds, the choir collaborates with all the resident organisations at the Helsinki Music Centre, or Musiikkitalo: the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the University of the Arts Helsinki's Sibelius Academy. Artistic Director of the choir since 2017 has been Nils Schweckendiek, professor of choral conducting at the Sibelius Academy. The singers are passionate choral enthusiasts. 

The repertoire, planned in close collaboration with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, is developed with long-term planning in mind and primarily consists of symphonic choral and orchestral works. A cappella works for large choirs are also performed. Most of the choir’s concerts take place at Musiikkitalo in Helsinki.

The Helsinki Music Centre Chorus is recruiting additional singers. 

For details of auditions, please visit www.musiikkitalonkuoro.fi.

Jukka-Pekka Saraste

Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, has established himself as one of the outstanding conductors of his generation. Born in Finland in 1956, he began his career as a violinist. Today, he is renowned as an artist of exceptional versatility and breadth.

Saraste has previously held principal conductorships at the WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and has served as Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. As a guest conductor, he appears with major orchestras worldwide, including the Orchestre de Paris, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Berlin, the Cleveland Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Symphony Orchestras of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Coaching and mentoring young musicians is of great importance to Saraste. He is a founding member of the LEAD! Foundation, a mentorship programme for young conductors and soloists.