Oulu Sinfonia will conclude its series of autumn season concerts by celebrating the Finnish Independence Day on the eve of Finnish Music Day (also known as Jean Sibelius Day), i.e. on Thursday, 7 December at 19:00. In the Finland, Our Land concert, the orchestra, led by Anna-Maria Helsing, the former Chief Conductor of Oulu Sinfonia and the current Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, will play Finnish classics such as Leevi Madetoja’s Kullervo, Helvi Leiviskä’s second symphony and Jean Sibelius’ Finlandia.
Unlike Jean Sibelius, Oulu-born Madetoja did not focus on the characters of Kalevala in his compositions, and the gentle and hyperromantic Kullervo, a piece in the spirit of Tchaikovsky, remained his only work inspired by the national epic of Finland.
Helvi Leiviskä (1902–1982), one of the most important female composers in Finnish history, was a musical trailblazer, a symphonist bravely defying gender roles whose production is being discovered again after a hiatus of decades. Applying the style of the late Romantic period, Leiviskä mainly composed for the orchestra. Her works include a piano concerto and a total of three symphonies, the middle one of which (1954) travels through intense twists and turns towards an unexpected conclusion.
The soloist part of the Finland, Our Land concert is a concerto for the accordion by Kirmo Lintinen, who is known as a jazz composer. Originally premiered in 2015 by the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, the concerto will be heard for the first time as a version rearranged for a large orchestra with Oulu-born accordion wizard Niko Kumpuvaara, the former artistic director of Oulu Music Festival and a member of Dallapé entertainment orchestra, as the soloist.
The extremely popular movie concerts of Oulu Sinfonia will continue this Christmas as Home Alone, the 1990s Christmas classic, can be experienced with live music at the Madetoja Hall. In the Christmassy story directed by Chris Columbus, 8-year-old Kevin is accidentally left behind when the rest of the family embarks for a Christmas in Paris. Burglars tormenting the neighbourhood have been tipped off that the house is empty, but instead come face-to-face with Kevin, armed with an endless stockpile of ideas and innovative defences.
The score was composed by John Williams, the most successful and well-known Hollywood composer, and the conductor is Anthony Gabriele. Home Alone movie concerts at Oulu Music Centre on Thursday, 14 December and Friday, 15 December starting at 18:00. You can combine the concerts with a delicious buffet dinner at Restaurant Preludi.
Oulu Symphony Orchestra’s Chamber Musicians can be heard at free concerts open to all in December. The best of chamber music will be heard on Saturday, 2 December at 15:00 at the Tulindberg Hall in Oulu Music Centre, on Saturday, 16 December at 15:00 at Oulunsalon Nuorisoseura and on Sunday, 17 December at 18:00 at Myllykirjasto library in Tyrnävä.