This concert is a recreation of Beethoven’s epic Vienna concert given in December 1808. It is scheduled to last 255 minutes. Royal Festival Hall at 14.00
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Sakari Oramo conducts BBS Symphony Orchestra
This concert marks the end of a total immersion weekend dedicated to the work of the Swedish composer, Anders Hillborg. Several of his works will be performed at the concert including his violin concerto No 1 and the Concerto for Clarinet. Barbican Hall at 19.30
Santtu-Matias Rouvali conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra
A concert of Russian music: Borodin’s Overture Prince Igor, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 2 (soloist Behzod Abduraimov) and Prokofiev’s Symphony No 5. Royal Festival Hall at 15.00
Sakari Oramo conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra
The single work in this concert will be a performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah. The soloists will be Elizabeth Watts, Claudia Huckle and Johan Reuter. Barbican Hall at 19.30
Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducts BBC Symphony Orchestra
The programme comprises Symphony No 8 by Shostakovich, Alma Mahler’s Lieder (mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill) and the UK premiere of Water Atlas by the Finnish composer Sebastian Fagerlund. Barbican Hall at 19.30
Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra
The programme includes three works composed as the world was emerging from the destruction of the Second World War, Vaughan Williams’ Symphony No 6, Richard Strauss’ Oboe Concerto (soloist Tom Blomfield) and Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements. Royal Festival Hall at 19.30
Annual General Meeting
The Society’s Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 17 March. The formal Notice of the Meeting will be circulated to members no later than the end of the first week in February
Talk by Edward Clark: Was Sibelius a Nationalist or a European Composer?
Edward Clark is the President of the UK Sibelius Society. By way of introduction to his talk he writes: “Sibelius was brought up in a backwater of Europe, a country called Finland, effectively the property of Russia. He died a national hero of a proud independent Finland and a composer of global significance. How did he accomplish this? What were the obstacles and challenges to this amazing transition? Did he remain a nationalist or did he emerge a fully-fledged European worthy of his reputation as a famous composer on the world stage? These questions will be addressed in seeking an answer to the title of the talk above.”
The meeting will be held at St Giles International, 154 Southampton Row, WC1. Members should contact the Hon Secretary in the usual way; others should contact him by using the contact form on this website.
The Enduring Tradition of Wooden Architecture in Finland
For our first event of the year, we will have a talk by Mark Powell on “The Enduring Tradition of Wooden Architecture in Finland.” Mark Powell has spent many years leading architectural tours in Europe and lecturing on architecture at Cambridge University, for NADFAS and for other institutions. He has a special interest in Finland, which he has been visiting for over 30 years, leading tours and drawing and painting the architecture.
The meeting will be held at St Giles International, 154 Southampton Row, WC1. Members should contact the Hon Secretary in the usual way; others should contact him by using the contact form on this website.
Finland: its Shared Baltic History
For our final meeting before the customary summer break, Dr Caroline Boggis-Rolfe will give an illustrated talk entitled “Finland: its Shared Baltic History”. Her book, The Baltic Story – a Thousand Year History of its Lands, Seas and Peoples was published last month. The book starts at the end of the Viking Age with the beginnings of the Hanseatic League and ends at the First World War. It covers the shared history of the nine countries that lie round the coast of the Baltic Sea. Her interest in the Baltic began when she lived in Berlin during the Cold War and regularly had opportunities to visit Dresden, Leipzig and Potsdam. Her interest was rekindled later when writing her PhD thesis on Voltaire, who corresponded with Catherine the Great and Frederick the Great.
The meeting will be held at St Giles International, 154 Southampton Row, WC1. Members should contact the Hon Secretary in the usual way; others should contact him by using the contact form on this website.