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  • Sun 16.05.
  • 8.00 p.m.

  • ·Klassik Cloud

Nordic Connection

Works by Respighi, Vaughan Williams and Beethoven

Finnish musician Pekka Kuusisto and The Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen share a long-standing artistic friendship, and the visionary soloist known for delivering innovative concerts recently even made his directing debut with the orchestra. This programme, in which he will be seen and heard as concert master, soloist and conductor, will allow him to demonstrate all his skills.

Both Ottorino Respighi and Ralph Vaughan Williams attempted to draw from tradition to bring forth the new. The glory days of Italian and French lute music are evoked in Respighi’s ›Antique Dances and Arias‹, English folklore and lyricism in Vaughan Williams’ ›The Lark Ascending‹.

The listening experience must also have been completely new and exciting for the Viennese in April 1800, when the young Beethoven presented his first symphony with all manner of surprises, from the seventh chord at the beginning to the scales at the start of the final movement.

Programme

    • Ottorino Respighi (1879–1936)
    • Antiche danze ed arie (Ancient Airs and Dances): Suite III
    • Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958)
    • The Lark Ascending
    • Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
    • Symphony No. 1 in C major op. 21
© Foto: Bård Gundersen

Violin and director

Pekka Kuusisto

Violinist, conductor and composer Pekka Kuusisto is widely recognised for his artistic freedom and fresh approach to the repertoire. He is Artistic Director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Co-Director of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also an artistic partner of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and has been an ›Artistic Best Friend‹ of the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen since 2017. Last season, Kuusisto made his debut as a violinist with the Berliner Philharmoniker and as conductor with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. This season he has performed with the Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig, the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, among others.

In addition to being an enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music who regularly premieres new works himself, Pekka Kuusisto is a gifted improviser, collaborating with people from across the artistic spectrum. Unfettered by conventional genre boundaries, his recent projects have included collaborations with composer and pianist Hauschka and percussionist Samuli Kosminen, Dutch neurologist Erik Scherder, electronic music pioneer Brian Crabtree and many more. In 2022, Kuusisto will release his first album as a conductor together with violinist Vilde Frang and the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen.

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© Foto: Bård Gundersen

Violin and director

Pekka Kuusisto

Violinist, conductor and composer Pekka Kuusisto is widely recognised for his artistic freedom and fresh approach to the repertoire. He is Artistic Director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Co-Director of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also an artistic partner of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and has been an ›Artistic Best Friend‹ of the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen since 2017. Last season, Kuusisto made his debut as a violinist with the Berliner Philharmoniker and as conductor with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. This season he has performed with the Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig, the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, among others.

In addition to being an enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music who regularly premieres new works himself, Pekka Kuusisto is a gifted improviser, collaborating with people from across the artistic spectrum. Unfettered by conventional genre boundaries, his recent projects have included collaborations with composer and pianist Hauschka and percussionist Samuli Kosminen, Dutch neurologist Erik Scherder, electronic music pioneer Brian Crabtree and many more. In 2022, Kuusisto will release his first album as a conductor together with violinist Vilde Frang and the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen.

read more