FRSO to begin 95th jubilee season with guest appearance at the BBC Proms
Theme composers for the 95th season Rachmaninov, Ligeti and Tarkiainen
The 95th season 2022/2023 of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra begins with a guest appearance at the BBC Proms under Chief Conductor Nicholas Collon. The season’s theme composers are Sergei Rachmaninov, György Ligeti and Outi Tarkiainen; in addition Australian Brett Dean will be Composer-in-Residence for two weeks.
In Autumn 2022 ninety-five years will have passed since the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra was formed. Nicholas Collon, who began as Chief Conductor last autumn, is delighted with his new post. “The FRSO is a first-rate orchestra, and the unusually large number of quality live concert broadcasts by the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle) further enhances its impact.” The anniversary will be celebrated at the season’s opening concert on 9.9. in a programme that includes Gemini – an orchestral work by Esa-Pekka Salonen – and Shostakovich’s 9th Symphony.
FRSO Proms concert live on Yle Radio 1
The BBC Proms, one of the world’s greatest classical musical events, has invited the FRSO to appear in London with its Chief Conductor Nicholas Collon and violinist Pekka Kuusisto on 26.8. Among the items on the programme will be the premiere by the FRSO of Thomas Adès’s Märchentänze, and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5.
Three theme composers: Rachmaninov, Tarkiainen and Ligeti
The theme composers for the 2022/2023 season are Sergei Rachmaninov and György Ligeti, both with anniversaries, and Outi Tarkiainen a young Finnish composer already well launched on an international career. The Rachmaninov concerts will take in all his symphonies and piano concertos, the Paganini Rhapsody and the choral oratorio The Bells. The focus on Ligeti will be on the Hungarian’s works for orchestra, such as his breakthrough Atmosphères, and his Violin Concerto, with Patricia Kopatchinskaya as the soloist. Representing Outi Tarkiainen will be Ring of Fire and Love, Midnight Sun Variations, Songs of the Ice, and her new Cor Anglais Concerto.
Brett Dean in October
In October, we welcome Grawemeyer Award-winning composer Brett Dean. “Dean is one of the world’s leading composers. He is also an excellent viola player and conductor, and will be appearing in both capacities in our FRSO concerts,” says FRSO Chief Conductor Nicholas Collon. There will be performances of his Viola and Clarinet Concertos, the orchestral piece Fire Music, and chamber music in which Dean, former viola player in the Berlin Philharmonic, will be joined by members of the FRSO.
Violin concerto by Puumala and song cycle by Haapamäki
In addition to Tarkiainen’s Cor Anglais Concerto, the FRSO will be premiering two Yle commissions postponed because of the Covid pandemic: a violin concerto by Veli-Matti Puumala on 6.12. and Orchestral Songs by Sampo Haapamäki at Musica nova Helsinki on 10.3. Scheduled for premiere in the Sunday chamber music series are Tomi Räisänen’s Regula and Seppo Pohjola’s Kohta.
FRSO debuts by Elim Chan and Kazuki Yamada
Among the conductors making their FRSO debut in the forthcoming season are Elim Chan, winner of the Donatella Flick Competition, and Joana Carneiro, Principal Guest Conductor of the Galicia Philharmonic Orchestra. Also appearing with us for the first time will be Chloé van Soeterstède, holder of a Dudamel Fellowship, Maxim Emelyanchev, Principal Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, and Kazuki Yamada, Chief Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.
Recordings of Tarkiainen, Bacewicz and Mahler
The FRSO will be recording the Cor Anglais Concerto and orchestral works by Outi Tarkiainen during the season. Other recording projects will include the Concerto for Two Pianos by Poland’s Grażyna Bacewicz, Lutosławski’s violin Partita with Christian Tetzlaff, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 10. The conductor of these recordings on the Ondine label will be Nicholas Collon.
TV concert broadcasts viewed by nearly 2 million
In 2021, the FRSO concerts shown on the Yle Teema and Yle TV 1 channels attracted nearly 2 million viewers. Concert transmissions and broadcasts will continue in the forthcoming season, live at 7 pm on Yle Radio 1 and Yle Areena web service and delayed at 8 pm on Yle Teema. Repeats will be shown on Yle TV 1 on Saturdays and broadcast on Yle Radio 1 on Tuesdays.
