Strauss Sibelius Mäkelä

In the 1890s Richard Strauss immersed himself in Friedrich Nietzsche's books, especially in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, which was published a few years earlier. The book became the basis for Strauss' most ambitious orchestral work to date: the symphonic poem Also sprach Zarathustra, premiered in 1896. The introduction describes a sunrise and was to become one of music history's most popular pieces of music. After it was used in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (from 1968), it is often associated with space.

Kaija Saariaho's Asteroid 4179: Toutatis from 2005 will be performed as a prelude to Strauss' tone poem. Saariaho was inspired by this asteroid's special shape and movement pattern, and that it has constantly been on a collision course with other celestial bodies.

Mette Henriette (b. 1990) is a Norwegian-Sámi composer and saxophonist currently recording with ECM Records. She has also distinguished herself within performance art, having collaborated with Marina Abramović. In the autumn of 2020, the Oslo Philharmonic and Klaus Mäkelä performed her orchestra work This Too as part of a televised broadcast of their summer concert. Two newly-composed works are featured as part of this programme.

Jean Sibelius was an eager student of Liszt’s symphonic poems in the 1890s. Among the fruits of this inspiration was Lemminkäinen, a symphonic poem in four parts which was performed for the first time in 1896. The work is based on stories about Lemminkäinen, one of the heroes in the Finnish national epic poem Kalevala. The best-known movement is The Swan of Tuonela, which is often performed as an independent work.

This concert programme has been changed. Soloist Yuja Wang is unable to come because of current Norwegian entry restrictions.

Due to current covid restrictions, 500 tickets will be put up for sale for this concert.