Now we are in luck! Music lovers in Helsinki do not have to travel to New York, Berlin or Paris to hear one of the most interesting composers of our time, as her music can now be heard being performed live in our own hometown concert hall. Aeriality has become the calling card of Anna Thorvaldsdottir. “A work I would go a long way to hear.” (Ateş Orga, Classical Source)
Johannes Brahms' Second Symphony has been in the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra’s repertoire for over a hundred years. How does the sunniest of Brahms’ symphonies sound when experienced and interpreted jointly by the musicians of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and chief conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste?
It took Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) two decades to compose his first symphony, daunted as he was by an image of Beethoven breathing down his neck. But having once finished it in 1876, he was able to write a second the very next summer. And whereas every bar of the first seems to be weighed down by his own and others’ expectations, the second is light and life-affirming. The lake scenery around his summer abode in Austria was obviously a source of inspiration.
The second symphony has such an air of freshness and serenity compared with his earlier compositions that Brahms even quipped to his publisher, Simrock: “My new symphony is so melancholic that you will not be able to bear it. I have not yet written anything quite so sad, so ‘minor’: the score must appear with black borders and in mourning.”
Premiered in December 1877, the symphony got an ecstatic reception. By popular request, the third movement was repeated as an encore. Some have criticised the overall balance: the first two movements take up about 30 of the total 45 minutes, but the country dance-like third, and the fourth with its jubilant ending could not be a more fitting counterbalance to the more sombre previous ones.
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.
