An Evening of Finnish Music with conductor Osmo Vänskä, clarinettist Kari Kriikku and the HK Phil 
Swire Maestro Series: OSMO VÄNSKÄ｜Finnish Adventure (28 & 29 June)

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[27 June 2019, Hong Kong] The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil), together with Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä and renowned Finnish clarinettist Kari Kriikku, will take the Hong Kong audience on a journey to relish the music from picturesque Finland, at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall on 28 & 29 June. This fully Finnish programme includes Finlandia and Symphony no. 2 by Sibelius, and the China premiere of Magnus Lindberg's thrilling Clarinet Concerto.

Magnus Lindberg’s incredibly exciting and hugely entertaining Clarinet Concerto was written especially for the renowned Finnish clarinettist Kari Kriikku. The work perfectly combines traditional and modern skills and is highly praised by music critics. BBC Music Magazine wrote, "This is a shiny, sophisticated, nostalgic cultural artefact”. Kari Kriikku is the ideal performer to present this stunning work for the first time in China.

The concert opens and closes with music from “the musical voice of Finnish nationalism”, Sibelius. In 1899, when the Russian Empire invaded Finland, the Finnish people launched a patriotic movement to defend their freedom. Sibelius wrote the symphonic poem Ode to Finlandia for this historical moment, with the deliberate intention of arousing the patriotic feelings amongst the Finns.  

On this summer evening, Sibelius’ famous Symphony no. 2 brings you to the end of this Finnish Adventure. With the support of Baron Axel Carpelan, who gave Sibelius' well-known tone poem Finlandia its name, Sibelius embarked on a trip to Italy in 1901 where he began work on his second symphony. This symphony quickly became very popular following the premiere, which was conducted by the composer himself, and remains his most popular symphony.

Swire Maestro Series: OSMO VÄNSKÄ｜Finnish Adventure will be held on 28 & 29 June (Fri & Sat), 8PM in the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall. Tickets priced: HK$ 580, $480, $380, $280 are available at URBTIX. For enquiries, please call +852 2721 2332 or visit hkphil.org.

Artists

Osmo Vänskä, conductor [full biography]

Music Director of the Minnesota Orchestra for 15 years, Osmo Vänskä has led the orchestra on five major European tours, as well as historic trips to Cuba in May 2015 and South Africa in August 2018 as part of the world-wide celebration of Nelson Mandela’s Centenary. Other key highlights include the complete recordings of Sibelius and Beethoven symphony cycles - winning a Grammy Award in 2014 for “Best Orchestral Performance” (Sibelius symphonies 1 and 4), and the forthcoming cycle of Mahler symphonies, of which one disc already garnered a Grammy nomination in 2018. Vänskä has been appointed as the new Music Director at Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, starting in January 2020 and extending for three seasons.

Kari Kriikku, clarinet [full biography]

A champion of contemporary music, Kari Kriikku is renowned for his interpretation of virtuosic new clarinet works written for him. The 2018/19 season saw him perform Kaija Saariaho’s D’om Le Vrai Sens with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in Dublin, Magnus Lindberg’s Clarinet Concerto with the Real Filharmonía de Galicia, and the concerto by Kimmo Hakola with the Turku Philharmonic and the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. He also brings Michel van der Aa’s Hysteresis and his ingenious Bizarre Bazaar programme to the Trondheim Chamber Music Festival.

SWIRE MAESTRO SERIES: OSMO VÄNSKÄ｜FINNISH ADVENTURE

28 & 29 | 6 | 2019

FRI & SAT 8PM

Hong Kong Cultural Centre Concert Hall

HK$580 $480 $380 $280

Tickets are now available at URBTIX.

For ages 6 and above