Sweden, home, Finland

When I decided to go home over Easter my father told me that on 24 April the Trier Philharmonic Orchestra's Sixth Symphony Concerto will take place - so the first Easter break evening programme was fixed, especially as they played Sibelius! They also played Rautavaara's (a Finn like Sibelius) "Lintukoto" and Chopin's fist piano concerto and according the local newspaper Chopin was the main reason for many of the visitors to come but for me of course Sibelius was the absolute highlight. Sibelius' second symphony was the first I played in an orchestra and Sibelius' violin concerto was the first solo concerto I played in an orchestra. (Of course, I played the solo violin! ;) )

So I listened interestedly (does this word even exist?) to Rautavaara and Chopin which both were nice but lacked something. Lintukoto was well played but somehow too uniform in dynamics (no, although I am a drummer I do not mean too quiet) and in structure so Rautavaara did not really catapult himself on my must-listen list. Similar with Chopin: Very well played and already with this piece the orchestra proved that the missing dynamics in the first piece was a compositional issue rather than an "orchestral" issue. The soloist Miao Huang's skill is unquestionable as the piano concerto as well as her encore showed. Only once again I was not fully convinced by the piece itself. "Too many notes" for my taste. Maybe you see what I mean when you listen to the concerto linked below: For my taste there is too little melody in it, too much swirling up and down the claviature. Besides - despite her skill - the soloist's interpretation (for me) seemed to lack ... feeling. Too many notes. ;) For piano music lovers and romanticism fans this might sound like blasphemy but "De gustibus non est disputandum." ;)

Then after the break finally the highlight! It is not only that Sibelius was the first composer I played in an orchestra! Sibelius always creates a very unique sound and a very unique atmosphere. After listening to several of his works I begin to suspect that the sound comes from the use of very distinct harmonies and - from bassoons.^^ I might be wrong though ... Listening to Sibelius brings you immediately to Finland. The music is a little melancholic, dreamy but still energetic and idiosyncratic (I hope this is the right word for it ...) - especially concerning its rhythmic. As I am (unfortunately :( ) definitely not a music expert, for a more accurate description and analysis I recommend the music guide or internet of your choice. ;)

For German readers here is a (slightly exuberant) newspaper review and - of course - recordings of the pieces performed:

For Rautavaara - Lintukoto I could not really find a good  recroding ...