Lahti Symphony Orchestra: Under the Spell of Romanticism

MATTHEW HALLS, conductor
ELINA VÄHÄLÄ, violin

Johann Sebastian Bach, orch. Matthew Halls: Suite of Sinfonias
Max Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1
Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 8

5:30pm Introduction to the concert / Minna Lindgren

Elina Vähälä, a former student at the Päijät-Häme Conservatory who has become an international star, returns as a guest performer with her home orchestra. This time she will tackle the German Romantic composer Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto in G minor. This virtuoso work, which brought the composer to the brink of despair, would probably never have been completed without detailed guidance from the master violinist Joseph Joachim. The collaboration paid off – this potent combination of infectious passages and memorable melodies has remained a firm favourite with audiences since its premiere.

Antonín Dvořák established his Czech voice once and for all in his Eighth Symphony. In this paean to happiness, immersed in the countryside atmosphere of Bohemia, even the most grandiose brass passages speak the language of positivity.

A compilation of the best overtures from Johann Sebastian Bach’s cantatas, assembled by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra’s principal conductor Matthew Halls, takes you to the sumptuous core of full-blown Romanticism.