Into the Music (Inn I musikken) by Kaija Saariaho begins at 18:30

The concert opens with Wagner’s Forest murmurs from Siegfried. 

The theme for Saariaho’s violin concert, Graal Théâtre (1994), uses two concepts “grail” and “theatre” as a reference to the tension that may arise between the composer’s work in the compositional process and the theatrical aspect of the actual musical progression. In this work, the work is presented in a new staged version with actors, text and video that has been created this year.

Wagner’s musical drama Tristan and Isolde is based on a medieval romance and tragedy. With its extreme chromatics and endless sections of unresolved tension, Wagner brought harmony to the limits of classical music’s tonality.

Saariaho’s works often have shimmering, dense sounds that undergo constant transformations. We can hear this in Vers Toi Qui Es Si Loin (To You Who Are So Far) for Violin and Orchestra (2018), which uses the violin’s top register. The atmospheric music uses the orchestral instruments as a soundtrack, almost like a swarm behind the violin.

Saariaho’s Lumière et Pesanteur (Light and gravity) is a short orchestral work from 2009, which was a gift to Saariaho’s good friend, conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. The work is an instrumental extract from the La Passion de Simone oratorium, describing the life of the French philosopher and activist Simone Weil. The music gives listeners a wonderfully contrasting sound, where bright tone colors alternate with dark shades.

The theme of Wagner’s Tannhäuser ouverture is the struggle between pure and profane romance, and brings about redemption through love. The Overture uses the entire expression scale, and with the majestic pilgrim’s choir, it gives us an intense end to the evening’s concert.