The Lahti Symphony Orchestra's work with Sibelius's music

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra has lived in close and fascinating proximity to the music of Sibelius. Under the direction of Osmo Vänskä the orchestra has explored, interpreted and performed his works not only on record but also in concert in the USA, England, Germany, Austria and, of course, at its home in the Sibelius Hall. Sibelius’s Kullervo, which the orchestra performed in Tokyo, was voted by Japanese critics as the best classical performance of 2003 in Japan.

Among the Lahti Symphony Orchestra's recordings are all the Sibelius symphonies; its most recent Sibelius discs are 'The Sound of Sibelius' and 'The Origin of Fire'. The orchestra's recordings of the original versions of Sibelius's Fifth Symphony, Violin Concerto and En saga have attracted particular attention. The Lahti Symphony Orchestra also made the world première recording of Sibelius’s long-forgotten tone poem The Wood-Nymph in 1996. The Lahti Symphony Orchestra is also the principal orchestra in BIS's 65-disc complete recording of Sibelius’s music.

The International Sibelius Festival

Each September the Lahti Symphony Orchestra organizes the International Sibelius Festival in the Sibelius Hall (which is named after the composer). The Festival has taken place since 2000, the year in which the Hall was completed. The aim of the Festival is the present a long weekend (Thursday–Sunday) of Jean Sibelius’s works to music lovers from all over the world, with wide-ranging programmes, featuring the finest available performers, that reflect the many sides of the composer’s music. Just as the famous Bayreuth Festival contains music exclusively by Wagner, so too the Lahti Symphony Orchestra’s Sibelius Festival is devoted entirely to Sibelius’s works. Ever since it began, the Festival has won international acclaim not only from audiences but also in the press. For instance, the prestigious Austrian newspaper Die Presse selected the 2003 Festival as one of the most important events of its kind in the world.

The artistic directors of the Sibelius Festival have been Osmo Vänskä and (2000-07) and Jukka-Pekka Saraste (2008-10). In the autumn of 2011 Okko Kamu will begin as the festival's artistic director.





Lahti SO to record the complete Sibelius symphonies under Okko Kamu

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra is to record all seven Sibelius symphonies under its Chief Conductor elect Okko Kamu for the Swedish label BIS. Kamu's international recording career began with a highly-acclaimed set of Sibelius symphonies for Deutsche Grammophon which he made in partnership with Herbert von Karajan, but the present project is his first of all seven Sibelius symphonies. The new edition of the complete symphonies is to be released as a set on the 150th anniversary of Sibelius’s birth in 2015. All in all Kamu has released over 100 discs on the Deutsche Grammophon, BIS, Ondine, Naxos and other labels.

In January 2011 the Lahti Symphony Orchestra under Okko Kamu recorded the first disc in the series, at the Sibelius Hall. Among the items on the disc will be Sibelius’s Tempest suites and Tapiola.