October 2015
In honour of the 150th birthday of Finland’s most renowned composer, Jean Sibelius, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and Finnish composer-conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen bring an exciting repertoire of Finnish music to Asia.
The three-concert tour takes the musicians to Macao, Shanghai and Beijing, with two works by Sibelius – excerpts from his 1905 piece Pelléas et Mélisande and his Symphony no. 7 – one of Salonen’s own works, Mania, written in 2000 for cello and ensemble, and a 2006 violin concerto by Salonen’s long-time friend, Magnus Lindberg.
Spanish violinist Leticia Moreno will feature as soloist in Lindberg’s violin concerto, while Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen features as soloist in Salonen’s Mania, which Salonen dedicated to Karttunen.
Lauded as one of the most innovative and talented artists in classical music, Salonen is currently the Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor for London’s Philharmonia Orchestra and Conductor Laureate for the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
As part of the Macau International Music Festival, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra will lead its Feel the Music education project, designed to give hearing impaired children the opportunity to experience music though all their senses.
