Violin Concerto and Beethoven’s Seventh

Her music can be described as lyrical, playful and communicative. And the new work is no exception. In her Violono Concerto Prosoidia , Lotta Wennäkoski reflects the musicality of spoken language. She has dedicated the last part to her former teacher, the composer Kaija Saariaho, who passed away last year, a few months before the work was premiered in London by the BBC Orchestra and Ilya Gringolts.

Now it’s the turn of the Norrland Opera. The Swedish premiere is taking place right here because we are one of Prosoidia’s clients. And this time, too, the Russian violinist Ilya Gringolts is on stage to perform the work that Wennäkoski has tailored for him.

The evening also offers a real classic. Beethoven’s Seventh is one of his most played symphonies. An energetic and powerful discharge, written as a reaction to Napoleon’s ravages. Beethoven himself conducted the first performance in Vienna, 1813. According to one of the violinists, he gestured wildly with his arms and jumped up and down on the podium.

The conductor of the evening is Olari Elts, who is the music director and chief conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.