Oulu Sinfonia’s concert halls have been filled throughout the spring season during the European Capital of Culture year, and the autumn season will bring with it a wealth of special productions. The season concerts welcome both internationally acclaimed soloists and outstanding Finnish artists.
The autumn season series begins with a world-class guest appearance on Thu 3 September. The soloist in Concerto for Orchestra concert will be piano superstar Angela Hewitt. The Canadian pianist is currently touring the world performing all of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s piano concertos. In Oulu, she will perform Piano Concerto No. 16 in D major, renowned for its elegant Viennese vitality. The celebrations of the piano continue already in Carried by the Current concert on Thu 10 September, when Oulu-based pianists Vanessa Cunha and Mika Rännäli perform Francis Poulenc’s delightfully entertaining Concerto for Two Pianos.
Maria Krykov, whose artistry is carrying Finnish musical expertise into Europe’s leading orchestras, performs Giovanni Bottesini’s Double Bass Concerto in Wonders of Italy concert on Thu 17 September under the baton of Nil Venditti. Meanwhile, Oulu Sinfonia’s flautist Carlotta Petri appears as the soloist in the world première of Kalevi Aho’s Concerto for Piccolo and Orchestra in The Charm of the Flutes concert on Thursday 5 November.
One of the great cellists of our time, Anastasia Kobekina, can be heard in concert Trembling Earth (Thu 15 October), a contemporary music concert forming part of the Ostrobothnian Contemporary Music Festival. She performs Bryce Dessner’s critically acclaimed cello concerto Earth Between Oceans, premiered in 2025. The concert, conducted by André de Ridder, will also feature Ensemble Recherche as guest performers. All the works in the programme will now have their Finnish premiere.
During the autumn season, Oulu Sinfonia performs several works that have left an indelible mark on music history. Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra (Thu 3 September) brought every orchestral player into the spotlight with unprecedented brilliance, while Ludwig van Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony (The Charm of the Flutes, Thu 5 November) was among the first works in which a composer openly reflected upon deeply personal experiences. Inspired by their travels, Robert Schumann (Rhenish Symphony, Carried by the Current, Thu 10 September) and Felix Mendelssohn (Italian Symphony, Wonders of Italy, Thu 17 September) later followed the same path in their symphonic writing.
Opera master Giuseppe Verdi demonstrated with his Requiem (Thu 29 October in Jyväskylä, Fri 30 October in Oulu) that the form of the catholic mass can encompass the full range of human emotion. Conducted by Pablo Dielgo, the performance features soprano Marjukka Tepponen, mezzo-soprano Melissa Zgouridi, tenor Markus Nykänen and bass Matti Turunen, with the Jyväskylän oopperakuoro.
Year 2026 marks one hundred years since the arrival of jazz in Finland. Oulu Sinfonia joins the celebrations as jazz giant Wynton Marsalis’s Swing Symphony (Wed 11 November) invites audiences on a journey through the many styles of jazz across the United States. The work will now receive its Finnish premiere, requiring the additional forces of the Oulu All Star Big Band. On Singles’ Day, 11 November, the evening continues with the Swing for Singles concert club at Restaurant Preludi.
The autumn season also includes numerous special concerts as part of Oulu’s European Capital of Culture year. Georges Bizet’s Carmen (1–3 October) is perhaps the most performed opera in the world. At Madetoja Hall, it will be seen in a new version by the visionary dancer and choreographer Israel Galván, in which the story is dismantled, inverted out and rebuilt anew. The soloists are Niina Keitel (Carmen), Timothy Richards (Don José), together with cantaora and guitarist Maria Marín and the distinctive local ensemble Mieskuoro Huutajat. The work is conducted by Maria Itkonen.
Olavi Uusivirta and his band bring both their new album and their best-loved hits to Oulu on Sat 26 September in a concert where also Oulu All Star Big Band shares the stage. One of the major productions of Oulu Sinfonia’s European Capital of Culture year forms part of the Lumo Light Festival in November. Beyond the Sky (19–21 November) is a multidisciplinary work combining Jukka-Pekka Metsävainio’s astronomical imagery with the music of Lauri Porra — a symphonic tone poem uniting the scale of a symphony with the expressive language of a chamber opera, reflecting upon the fundamental questions of humanity in the light of the stars and infinity. The work is conducted by Dalia Stasevska, with soprano Aphrodite Patoulidou and violinist Mari Samuelsen as soloists.
In December, Oulu Sinfonia will perform as the orchestra for Oulu2026’s musical Snowball. The musical, composed by Douglas Pashley, stars among others Saara Aalto and Kristo Salminen. The production is directed by Paul Garrington.
Outreach beyond the concert hall continues to play a central role in Oulu Sinfonia’s autumn season. The outreach concert weeks in August once again bring music to day-care centres, schools, care homes, shopping centres, lunch restaurants and churches. August also includes two free events at Hupisaari Open-Air Theatre: Hymns We Hum (Thu 13 August) invites audiences to sing beloved hymns and favourites chosen by the public, while the traditional Oulu Sinfonia Open (Thu 20 August) offers three concerts of differing programmes with something for listeners of all ages.
The Oulu Sinfonia Chamber Musicians also continue their series of free chamber concerts. Throughout the autumn, chamber music performances will be heard not only at the Oulu Music Centre, but also at various venues across Oulu, Muhos, Kempele and Tyrnävä.
Text: Oulu Sinfonia