Programme:
Raitio. Ballet/intermezzo “Waterspout” (Vesipatsas)
Weinberg. Trumpet concert op. 94
Bernstein. Symphonic dances from the musical “West Side Story”
Ravel. “La valse”

The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra is a splendid body indeed: scrupulous in ensemble, refined in tone, almost aristocratic.
The Times

The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), and its mission is to produce and promote Finnish musical culture. Its Chief Conductors have been Toivo Haapanen, Nils-Eric Fougstedt, Paavo Berglund, Okko Kamu, Leif Segerstam, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Sakari Oramo, Hannu Lintu, and as of autumn 2021 Nicholas Collon.

British conductor Nicholas Collon is recognized for his elegant conducting style, searching musical intellect and inspirational music-making. He began as Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony in August 2021 – the first non-Finnish conductor ever to hold this post.

In addition to the great Classical-Romantic masterpieces, the latest contemporary music is a major item in the repertoire of the FRSO, which each year premieres a number of Yle commissions. Another of the orchestra’s tasks is to record all Finnish orchestral music for the Yle archive.

The “rediscovery” of Finnish composer Väinö Raitio’s works of the 1990s swept away the dust from many forgotten gems of Finnish orchestral music. One of those being “Waterspout” (“Vesipatsas”) which had been dormant for almost half of a century.

Mieczysław Weinberg’s trumpet concerto was called a “symphony for trumpet and orchestra” by the composer’s contemporary Dmitri Shostakovich. The soloists is the FRSO’s lead trumpet Jonas Silinskas.

Leonard Bernstein’s symphonic dances from the musical West Side Story evoke Manhattan of the 1950s, Maurice Ravel’s “La valse” paints a grand picture of Europe before the First World War.

Duration appr. 1 h 45 min, with one intermission