For our International Sibelius Festival, now taking place for the nineteenth time, we turn our gaze towards the Baltic. 2018 marks the centenary of the foundation of the Republic of Estonia, and Jean Sibelius had a personal connection to musical life in the Baltic countries through the concert tours he made to Estonia and Latvia, conducting his own works, in the early years of the twentieth century. At the two concerts by our own orchestra, the Latvian star violinist Baiba Skride will play Sibelius´s Violin Concerto (6 September) and Six Humoresques (8 September).

The festival´s programme includes not only orchestral concerts but also chamber music and other Sibelius-themed activities. After the orchestral concert on 6 September, in the Sibelius Hall’s main auditorium, there will also be a late evening chamber concert: the Wellamo Trio (Anu Silvasti, piano; Lotta Nykäsenoja, violin; Ilkka Uurtimo, cello) will perform Sibelius’s Piano Trio in A minor, ‘Hafträsk’.

Pre-concert talks will offer concert-goers fascinating additional information about the music being performed and the spirit of the period. The Saturday talk is an interview with Artistic Director Dima Slobodeniouk and Concertmaster Maaria Leino.

Tickets via Ticketmaster’s outlets and website in Finland and from the Sibelius Hall box office.