The symphony by the American Samuel Barber was a musical milestone of 1936, and its vibrancy has not faded with time. The young Richard Strauss’s early poem Tod und Verklärung marked an explosive statement in the composer’s struggle to overcome illness, a struggle between the fear of death and a thirst for life that grew to symphonic proportions. Roderick Cox makes his much-anticipated return to Lahti.

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.  

What does a Christmas of memories feel like? The hymns and joyful songs of the Christmas church service. Black and white photos and the smell of the Christmas tree. Eternal peace and neighbourly love, hope and light, fresh ginger biscuits and steaming pans. The words of a carol that have stuck in the memory, the meaning of which you could not understand when you were a child.  

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas concert takes us on a journey back to the Christmases of the past. Sometimes closer, sometimes further away, to ever-changing memories coloured by nostalgic melodies from years and decades ago. Venla award-winning singer-actress Maria Ylipää and Swedish musical star Alexander Lycke perform some of the most memorable Christmas songs and recent arrivals, from Sibelius’s classics to the most atmospheric gems of American jazz.

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.

The multi-talented Olli Mustonen excels in the rare triple role of composer, pianist and conductor. Misterioso, Furioso, Ad Astra – does Mustonen’s Triptych anticipate the evening’s proceedings?

Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fifth Piano Concerto was written in the shadow of Napoleon’s wars of conquest. Soon the public gave the work the politically inflammatory nickname ‘Emperor’ – without asking the composer. Rather than describing an autocratic warlord, the title describes the majestic power with which Beethoven attained the grandiose sonorities of the Romantic era. The young Felix Mendelssohn’s visit to the British Isles inspired the Scottish moods of his Third Symphony. Cheerful village dances, Queen Mary Stuart’s elegy and vivid battle scenes. This is what the unadorned beauty of the lush moors sounds like.

Canadian Luka Coetzee, winner of the 2023 International Paulo Cello Competition, will perform the most poignant of concertos, Dmitri Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto. Tailored for the master cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, this heroic work is not only a feat of athleticism but also an endless torrent of exuberant emotion.  

Antonín Dvořák made his career with his Slavonic Dances with their light, national romantic melodies. On the other hand the pathos of his Seventh Symphony, oozing drama and tragedy, made it ideal for an international audience. Its massive success helped the Czech composer to find his place in the great symphonists’ hall of fame.

Henrik Ibsen’s play Peer Gynt was a theatrical event, and the music of Edvard Grieg immortalised it in concert halls. Morning Mood, The Death of Åse, Anitra’s Dance and In the Hall of the Mountain King – Norwegian Tabita Berglund makes her debut in Lahti with a suite that is an all-time hit.

The minimalist Philip Glass tailored his most beloved concert piece for a man like his father; a listener who enjoys music with his heart rather than his brain. ‘It’s entertaining, yes,’ Glass has said, ‘but that’s the way it should be. After all, it’s for my father.’ New music specialist Mari Samuelsen makes her debut in Lahti with a piece full of hypnotic rhythms that will get your feet tapping.

Missy Mazzoli, winner of Musical America’s 2022 Composer of the Year Award, is one of the most frequently played contemporary composers. Orpheus Undone, written for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, is a tone poem based on a Greek myth and a flight of fancy about a moment that changes everything: Eurydice is dead, and Orpheus must embark on a daring rescue mission to the Underworld in the name of love.

Lightsabers at the ready, the Death Star blueprints have been stolen! The mother of all space operas, Star Wars – A New Hope (1977) introduced audiences to Han Solo, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, the ultimate evil. Tonight, the mood soars up into space as the silver screen descends on the Sibelius Hall and John Williams’s epic tunes come to life with the power of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stefan Geiger.