Satu Kahila
Yle
The 2024/25 season marks the beginning of the second term of Nicholas Colan as Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Under him, the orchestra will be featuring a wealth of music on the theme of Paris – City of Light, along with Bach’s St John Passion as a follow-up to the highly-acclaimed performance of the St Matthew Passion in spring 2023. The season’s other two themes are Finnish-American composer Lara Poe, and soloists from the orchestra’s own ranks.
Paris is known to have been called The City of Light ever since the 17th century, the term having been coined following its introduction of street lighting. Later, it also came to apply to refer to the heyday of the arts and science beginning there in the Age of Enlightenment. It is likewise the source of inspiration for the season’s French music theme. “The programmes for our Paris concerts mainly fall between the births of two composers with anniversaries coming up,” says Chief Conductor Nicholas Collon: “Maurice Ravel, born in 1875, and Pierre Boulez, born in 1925, both inspired by the French capital.”
Among the items on the programme will be piano concertos by Ravel, Debussy’s Après-midi d’un faune and La Mer, Messiaen’s Turangalîla Symphony, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Boulanger’s D’un soir triste and Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. There will also be some orchestral works by Boulez and a chamber recital masterminded by one of his pupils, Finnish pianist Paavali Jumppanen.
Lara Poe – a creator of surrealistic sounds
Nature, light, art and geometric forms – these are, said Lara Poe (b. 1993) on being granted membership of the Society of Finnish Composers in spring 2021, among the things that inspire her. Born in Boston, she has spent longish periods in Finland, her mother’s homeland. In 2016, she moved to London, where she received a Master’s degree from the Royal College of Music and is currently studying for a Ph.D. at King’s College London, under the supervision of George Benjamin.
The music of Poe alternates mysterious or even surrealistic sounds with more heated energy. Kaamos, one of the works by her chosen for the FRSO’s season, won an international BMI Student Composer award and in 2021 was selected by Yle Radio Finland to represent Finland at the international Rostrum of Composers. Her Onerva Songs (2023) were composed as a co-commission from the Lahti and Oulu Symphony Orchestras. Also on the programme is a new work for orchestra scheduled to be premiered on February 12, 2025.
The season’s other premieres include “No. 57” (K’s Strange Day), a timpani concerto by Richard Ayres, a symphony by Olli Koskelin, violin concertos by Sebastian Hilli and Olli Mustonen, and the organ concerto by Federico Perotti that won the Kaija Saariaho Competition for a new work for organ. The Sunday chamber music series will introduce new works by Tapio Tuomela and Pekka Saarinen.
From the ranks of the FRSO
In addition to their demanding orchestral work, many of the FRSO players regularly receive solo invitations both from Finland and abroad. Our “From the ranks of the FRSO” theme spotlights ten such players in repertoire ranging from the early 20th century to the present day, both concertos and other solo works.
Making their debut with the FRSO this season will be conductors Nil Venditti, Constantinus Carydis and Antonello Manacorda, and back to conduct the orchestra will be already familiar maestros Herbert Blomstedt, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Elim Chan. Among the soloists will be pianist Alexandre Tharaud, violinist Julia Fischer and mezzo-soprano Jasmin White.
In spring 2025, the FRSO under Esa-Pekka Salonen is to be the Orchestra in Residence of the Salzburg Easter Festival (Osterfestspiele), one of the most prestigious of its kind in Europe. Deputising for the FRSO in its concert series at the Helsinki Music Centre while it is in Salzburg will be the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä, and Sir András Schiff will play Bach’s Goldberg Variations at two piano recitals.
Recordings of Sibelius, Strauss and Elgar
CDs of works by Sibelius, Richard Strauss and others will be released during the season, as will the Violin Concerto by Magnus Lindberg and Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius. The conductor on these records on the Ondine label will be Nicholas Collon.
Streamed and televised concerts seen by 3.3 million
The FRSO’s concerts on Yle Areena, Yle Teema and Yle TV 1 were viewed by a total audience of 3.3 million in 2023. Concerts will continue to be broadcast live in the forthcoming season, at 19:00 on Yle Radio 1 and Yle Areena and, delayed, from 20:00 on Yle Teema, with repeats on both TV 1 and Radio 1.
Season tickets for the whole season and the autumn will be on sale from May 15 to August 5, single tickets for the autumn from August 14.
