Festival summer
Klaus Mäkelä
Yuja Wang Maurice Ravel
Pjotr Tsjaikovskij

The Storm is one of Williams Shakespeare's most distinctive plays and has inspired a long line of composers. Pyotr Tchaikovsky set about the task in 1873 after a suggestion from his mentor Vladimir Stasov - he also wrote music for Romeo and Juliet and Hamletlater. «Does it have to be a storm in The Storm?» asked the composer Stasov in a letter – he was more concerned with the love story between Miranda and Ferdinand. The answer he got was yes, but Tchaikovsky's orchestral piece had room for both storm and love and for the quiet and angry ocean. 

The Austrian Paul Wittgenstein (1887-1962), elder brother of the philosopher Ludwig, debuted as a concert pianist in 1913. He lost his right arm during service in World War I the year after but decided, while imprisoned, to create his own path. After the war, he commissioned piano music for the left hand from several composers. Maurice Ravel's Piano concerto for the left hand from 1930 is today's most famous work. Simultaneously, Ravel wrote a concerto for two hands - Piano concerto in G Major. The concertos premiered with a nine day gap in January 1932.

Alexander Scriabin (1871-1915) developed a strong personal and radical style at the beginning of the 20th century, inspired by, among others, Richard Wagner's operas, Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy, and his own synesthesia - he experienced music in colors. His ambition was sky-high: his most significant, unfinished project was supposed to be performed in the Himalayas and trigger a new world order. The symphonic poem Poem of Ecstasy from 1908 is written for a large orchestra and builds from a subdued start to two powerful climaxes.