Sibelius in Turku

TMF, Sinfonia Lahti, and Hannu Lintu invite you to a concert where the essence of Finnish orchestral music is revealed in all its glory. The evening’s program features some of Sibelius’s most beloved works and Rautavaara’s mystical soundscape – music that radiates the power and timelessness of northern stories.

The concert begins with three parts from Sibelius’s incidental music for the play Death: the fragile Scene with Cranes, the gently singing Canzonetta, and the iconic Valse Triste, which dances on the border between life and transience. This is followed by Rautavaara’s early modern work Angels and Visitations, in which the myth of angels and the orchestra’s deep range of tones intertwine in a hypnotic vision. The main work of the evening is Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, one of the cornerstones of Finnish symphonic literature. It builds its journey from uncertain searching to a clarifying finale, whose ascent towards the light is one of the most beautiful moments in orchestral music. The concert is crowned by the festive Finlandia, a work that is like the heartbeat of the nation.

The evening’s program takes the listener through a harmony of emotions: the sensitivity and symbolic obscurity of the beginning lead the listener towards Rautavaara’s mystical tones that transcend time. The power of the Second Symphony grows organically, breathing freely and finally bursting into light that envelops the entire concert hall. Finlandia concludes the evening with a sublime, moving sound, like a collective rise towards something greater and more hopeful.

Join us on a journey into the soul of Finnish music, which is emotional, deep, and powerfully forward-looking.