Chief Conductor John Storgårds’ concert puts the madness of war to music. Ukrainian Victoria Polevá´s Nova is a tribute to Ukrainian courage. Britten’s Violin Concerto was written on the eve of the Second World War and echoes the turbulent atmosphere of the time. The soloist is the brilliant Simone Lamsma, known for her expressive and intense interpretations. Adagio religioso is a reflective and melancholic section from Kokkonen’s breakthrough work Music for Strings. Honegger’s Third Symphony is one of his best-known works. Composed between 1945 and 1946, it comments on the Second World War, recalling the horrors of war and, in the finale, appealing to the longing for peace, “Dona nobis pacem”!

Program:

Victoria Polevá: Nova (Finnish premiere)
Benjamin Britten: Violin Concerto in D minor op. 15 (Simone Lamsma, violin)
Joonas Kokkonen: Adagio religioso from Music for Strings
Arthur Honegger: Symphony no 3 “Liturgique”