Sibelius Symphony No. 2

Multi-award-winning violinist Ray Chen is the soloist in Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s dazzling violin concerto. Korngold was threatened by the politically intensifying climate of Europe and emigrated to the US in 1938. There, he quickly became one of Hollywood’s most in-demand film score composers. The violin concerto is built on a theme from some of his movies and was a huge success immediately. 

While visiting Italy with his family, Sibelius worked out several ideas for Symphony No. 2. After its world premiere in 1902, it became a symbol of Finnish liberation from Russian control, and upon hearing this sincere, singing and ultimately triumphant music, it is not difficult to understand why. 

The orchestra is led by German Anja Bihlmaier, principal conductor of Residentie Orkest The Hague since 2021. She has worked with a number of prominent orchestras around the world. Her repertoire is vast and she also works as an opera conductor. Bihlmaier has conducted the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra twice before, in 2017 and 2019. (In this concert, Bihlmaier replaces the previously announced conductor Dalia Stasevska.)

The concert opens with music by Andrea Tarrodi, one of Sweden’s most buzzed-about young composers, praised for her personal and vibrant music. Her piece Liguria was inspired by the idyllic little fishing villages on the Ligurian Sea on the northwest coast of Italy.