Brahms & Saari­aho

There is a Finnish is twist to this program. Conductor Jan Söderblom is the concertmaster of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, and soloist Verneri Pohjola is an extraordinarily versatile musician, equally attuned to experimental jazz and contemporary music. Few works in Finnish music have attracted as much attention in recent years as the elegant and technically demanding trumpet concerto Hush, which was the last work composed by composer Kaija Saariaho before her death in 2023. The work was premiered by Pohjola with the Finnish Radio Orchestra shortly afterwards, and in it Saariaho dealt with her own illness and pain in a particularly moving and sincere way. Prior to the performance of Hush, Söderblom will conduct Hava by the Finnish composer Lotta Wennäkoski, a colourful and dynamic piece. In the second half of the concert, Söderblom conducts a performance of Brahms's magnificent Second Symphony from the first stand in the violin section and not from the conductor's podium, as is customary.