19.11. at 20:00 Music Centre

Jukka-Pekka Saraste conductor Tuomas Lehto cello Lotta Emanuelsson PRESENTER

Camille Saint-Saëns: Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33 Allegro non troppo – Allegretto con moto – Tempo primo 1

W. A. Mozart: Symphony No. 39 in E-flat Major KV 543 1. Adagio – Allegro 2. Andante con moto 3. Menuetto: Trio 4. Allegro

No interval. The concert will end at about 21:15. The finale is a brilliant conclusion to this (literally a “tail” section) to some extent Camille Saint-Saëns: optimistic work. Mozart combines spark- leaves the finale open. ling comedy with clever counterpoint, and Cello Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, Op. 33 Programme notes by Antti Häyrynen towards the end, he still has some surpri- translated (abridged) by Susan Sinisalo Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) complet- soloist is always in the forefront. A neat ses up his sleeve. The absence of a coda ed his first cello concerto in 1872. He had transition leads to a stylish minuet in the been one of the founders of a Societé nature of a pastiche that casts an air of Jukka-Pekka Saraste Nationale de Musique, helping to organise nostalgia over this part. The orchestra car- its concerts under the heading Ars Gallica. ries the minuet theme along, with the cel- Jukka-Pekka Saraste is one of the lea- of the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra in In his cello concerto he sought to draw at- lo adding some mini-cadenzas. The main ding conductors of his generation: Chief 1983. He was Principal Guest Conductor tention to the merits of French music: ra- theme of the first part returns at the end Conductor of orchestras in , ot- of the BBC Symphony Orchestra 2002– tionalism, elegance and esprit. of this section and is eagerly taken up her parts of Europe and North America, 2005 and Artistic Advisor of the Lahti The concerto is in a single movement (Tempo 1). The drama familiar from the and a guest with many of the world’s top Symphony Orchestra 2008–2011. He also but three distinct parts. It may also be un- first part is contrasted with slower ideas ensembles. founded the Finnish Chamber Orchestra derstood as a broad application of sonata (Un peu moins vite) in which the cello Chief Conductor and now Conductor and is still Artistic Advisor of this and its form. It begins with a brief chord on the tests the emotional climate and the limits Laureate of the Finnish Radio Symphony annual Tammisaari Festival. orchestra that serves as the firing shot for of its top register. The finale (Molto alle- Orchestra 1987–2001, Saraste has also Saraste has a repertoire extending from the solo cello’s theme. The minor key gi- gro) sweeps the concerto along to a hap- served as Principal Conductor of the the Classical era through to the present ves the opening part a fatalistic feel. The py end. Scottish Chamber Orchestra (1987– day and has conducted a large number 2 gentle second theme is elegiac, but the 1991), Music Director of the Toronto of premieres. His large discography inclu- 3 Symphony Orchestra (1994–2001), Music des the complete Beethoven and Brahms Director and Chief Conductor of the Oslo symphonies with the WDR Orchestra, and W. A. Mozart: Philharmonic Orchestra (2006–2013 and music by Bruckner, Mahler, Stravinsky, Symphony No. 39 in E-flat later its first Conductor Laureate) and Schönberg and others. Topping the list of Major KV 543 most recently Chief Conductor of the his other projects are his complete recor- WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne dings of the Sibelius and Nielsen sympho- The E-flat major symphony composed by The Rococo idyll of the slow, Andante (2010–2019). nies with the FRSO. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) in movement is interspersed with episodes Together with Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka- summer 1788 is both rich and well-balan- full of feeling in minor keys. The slow mo- Pekka Saraste was one of the founders ced. It was the first of his symphonies to vements of Mozart’s late instrumental use clarinets instead of oboes, thus produ- works seem to have an underlying melan- TUOMAS LEHTO cing a softer sound than before. Though choly, but a new, more relaxed and perso- basically a “traditional” symphony in the nal view of mankind is here reflected in Tuomas Lehto can frequently be heard in in 2000 and there stu- sense understood at the time, it contra- the rich instrumentation. solo and chamber repertoire, and at many died with Hannu Kiiski, Marko Ylönen and venes the generic conventions in its mate- The brisk minuet is obviously danced festivals. First solo cellist in the Finnish Jan-Erik Gustafsson. He spent 2007–2008 rial, dimensions and refinement. far from court. The contrasting trio sec- Radio Symphony Orchestra, he is also a in Stockholm as a pupil of Torleif Thedéen. The solemn introduction to the first tion, dominated by woodwinds, has a rus- member of the New Helsinki Quartet and He has recorded for radio and disc both as movement creates a feeling of expectan- tic ring to it, but as so often in his works, the Total Cello Ensemble, and Artistic a soloist and with various ensembles, has cy. The contrast with the jubilant Allegro Mozart again plays with light and shadow. Director of the KuruFest chamber music premiered a number of new works and that follows is restrained. The main sec- The strings’ subtheme almost verges on festival in his native Finland. teaches the cello at the Sibelius Academy. tion has lots of motifs, but the main the- the tragic, but ends on a dainty, coquet- Having taken his first cello lessons me sails smoothly through the thorough tish note. when he was three, Tuomas entered the recapitulation. The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra The FRSO has recorded works (FRSO) is the orchestra of the Finnish by Mahler, Bartók, Sibelius, Hakola, Broadcasting Company (Yle). Its mission Lindberg, Saariaho, Sallinen, Kaipainen, is to produce and promote Finnish musical Kokkonen and others. It has twice won culture and its Chief Conductor as of au- a Gramophone Award: for its disc of tumn 2013 has been . Lindberg’s Clarinet Concerto in 2006 The Radio Orchestra of ten players and of Bartók Violin Concertos in 2018. founded in 1927 grew to symphony or- Other distinctions have included BBC chestra proportions in the 1960s. Its Chief Music Magazine, Académie Charles Cros Conductors have been Toivo Haapanen, and MIDEM Classical awards. Its disc of Nils-Eric Fougstedt, , tone poems and songs by Sibelius won Okko Kamu, , Jukka-Pekka an International Classical Music Award Saraste and Sakari Oramo, and taking (ICMA) in 2018, and it has been the re- over from Hannu Lintu in 2021 will be cipient of a Finnish EMMA award in 2016 Nicholas Collon. and 2019. In addition to the great Classical- The FRSO regularly tours to all parts of 4 Romantic masterpieces, the latest con- the world. During the 2020/2021 season temporary music is a major item in the its schedule will include a tour to Spain un- repertoire of the FRSO, which each year der Hannu Lintu. premieres a number of Yle commissions. The FRSO concerts are broadcast live Another of the orchestra’s tasks is to re- on the Yle Areena and Radio 1 channels cord all Finnish orchestral music for the and are recorded and shown later on Yle Yle archive. Teema and TV 1.