Osmo Vänskä and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra have a history together that needs no introduction. The former principal conductor and main architect of the orchestra’s worldwide renown presents a programme celebrating the versatility of Finnish music. Vänskä’s trademark, Sibelius’s luminous Symphony No. 3 in C major, will be the highlight of the evening.

The Second Violin Concerto by the orchestra’s honorary composer Kalevi Aho is pure Aho; a dramatic arc with fascinating, fleeting details and soaring heights. The spectacular solo part is performed by Tami Pohjola, tipped to be Finland’s next super-violinist.

An outsider in Finnish music history and a contemporary of Sibelius, Ernst Pingoud wrote music in the wrong place at the wrong time. The symphonic poem Prologue, full of French-style riches, is a prime example of a musical language that shocked Finnish audiences.

Banner by Jessie Montgomery, winner of the Grammy for the Best Contemporary Composition of 2024, updates the US National Anthem for the 21st century.  

Okko Kamu, who began his career as a phenomenally talented violinist, burst onto the world scene in 1969 when he won the first Herbert von Karajan Competition in Berlin. Since then, he has appeared with almost every top orchestra and opera company in the world. Kamu crowned his tenure as principal conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra with a recording of the complete Sibelius symphonies.

This spring Kamu celebrates his 80th birthday with his former orchestra. In his birthday concert he will focus on the most important landmarks of his career, Sibelius’s mystical youthful tone poem En saga and the Seventh Symphony, a testament to symphonic form that ends in a serene evening twilight.

Ossi Tanner, who is rapidly rising to the forefront of Finnish pianists, is already a familiar face as a soloist with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. Here he performs Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto, the brightest jewel in the crown of romantic piano literature.

ENCOUNTERS

SIBELIUS FESTIVAL 2025-2027
‘The originality of Jean Sibelius’s output can prevent us from noticing his connections with other composers and musical styles. We know that as a young man he admired Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner and that he was well aware of the stylistic turbulence of the early 20th century. His circle of friends included some of the most important international musicians of the era. The timelessness and contemporary approach of Sibelius’s late period inspired future composers. As part of the Sibelius Festival, we want to show what those connections mean in practice.

One festival is not enough; we need three.

I have considered it a special honour to plan the Sibelius Festival and have sought to keep the focus of the programme on the master composer’s output. The works by other composers have been selected according to the above considerations. I am grateful for this trust and look forward to magical encounters with Sibelius.’

Hannu Lintu, Artistic Director, Lahti Symphony Orchestra´s Sibelius Festival

Mozart’s Requiem was written in circumstances that have remained unclear and in complete silence. Nobody was allowed to breathe a word about it, so the nobleman who commissioned it could present it as his own composition. Mozart avoided tackling the job for several months, and finally took action far too late. Sudden illness and death interrupted the composition halfway through and turned the ominous visions into reality: the fateful Requiem Mass became, as it were, Mozart’s swan song in memory of himself.

Completed by Mozart’s friends, the Requiem is a profound portrayal of death and mercy, a masterpiece that has appealed to listeners for centuries, and a myth that gave the life story of an artistic genius an unassailable place in the annals of music. The Lahti Symphony Orchestra, early music specialist Peter Whelan and a select group of Finnish singers lead the way into the Easter season.

Spring comes with a swing, but the May Day matinee rests on the firm foundations of steadfast tradition. The threat of sleet and snow recedes, at least in the shelter of the Sibelius Hall, where we hear great music from the lighter side of the classical spectrum: exciting rhythms that are familiar and safe, hits that have stood the test of time.

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra’s May Day matinee is perfect for the occasion: sparkling melodies, pieces that call to mind May Day treats, classics with or without bubbles and chords with a sugar-coated finish. In short, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra wishes you a happy May Day again this year – in all seriousness, but not at all in earnest. The wait for spring is now over.

Antonín Dvořák’s tenure as director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York opened up the Czech composer’s mind to new sensations. Fascinated by Afro-American gospel, indigenous melodies and majestic landscapes, the composer blended these ingredients into one of the most beloved orchestral works of all time, his Symphony No. 9, ‘From the New World’.

Sampo Kasurinen’s concerto is specially written for Lilli Maijala, the leading Finnish viola player. The work blurs the boundaries of the reality behind the music in the style of the visual artist Ragnar Kjartanson. Kasurinen’s music is not music as such, but rather images of music – the contradictions between the often beautiful end result that the audience hears and the world behind the curtain.

By contrast, the Fantasia on the Theme of Thomas Tallis by the English national romantic Ralph Vaughan Williams glows with pure, undisguised beauty.

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra turns 75 and Sibelius Hall turns 25. Double congratulations!

Principal conductor Dalia Stasevska, the YL Male Voice Choir, baritone Ville Rusanen and soprano Johanna Rusanen celebrate the twin birthdays with the almost 75-minute-long symphonic poem with choir and soloists by Jean Sibelius. The Finnish national composer’s first great work tells the tragic story of the Kalevala hero, with his love affairs, battles and bloody demise. Kullervo echoes the primal patriotism of autonomy-era Finland.

How could a trumpet depict falling into a deep well and crashing into the walls on the way down? This was a question that Kaija Saariaho pondered when composing a concerto for jazz trumpeter Verneri Pohjola with the last of her strength. The concerto HUSH has been hailed as an unforgettable masterpiece, the ultimate expression of Saariaho’s immortality.

Symphonically together: Polttimo Oy

Having already announced his retirement, Johannes Brahms crowned his career as an orchestral composer with an expression of solidarity. Tired of the triumphal procession of lonely virtuosos, he composed his last orchestral work for colleagues without whom his voice would never have risen so high in the world of music. This spirited but serene double concerto for soloists of equal stature became a heartfelt celebration of friendship and collaboration. Today it is interpreted by Otto Antikainen and Senja Rummukainen, a well-established duo who have already delighted many times over with their interpretations of Brahms.

Anton Bruckner’s Second Symphony is rarely heard in concert. A noble, cathedral-like monument lasting more than an hour, the work evokes the lush valleys and sharp peaks of the Alps. Former principal conductor Okko Kamu returns to the Lahti Symphony Orchestra after several years.