Friday 27, July > 20h Opéra Berlioz / Le Corum

Frédéric Chopin
Concerto pour piano et orchestre n°2 en fa mineur opus 21

Jean Sibelius
Suite de Lemminkäinen opus 22 (Quatre légendes pour orchestre)

Lemminkäinen et les jeunes filles de Saari
Le Cygne de Tuonela
Lemminkäinen à Tuonela
Le retour de Lemminkäinen

When the fiery piano of Brazilian Nelson Freire meets Chopin, an osmotic phenomenon occurs: the intimate delicacy of the Romantic musician is decked out in expressive playing of great eloquence.
You thought you knew Chopin? No, not with such agility and nuances in the Piano Concerto No. 2 as played by Nelson Freire.

The second half is devoted to the Four Legends of Lemminkäinen, one of Sibelius’ absolute masterpieces, conducted by the young Mikko Franck, the second good surprise of the evening. Appointed director of the Finnish National Opera at the age of 25, he is now recognised as one of the finest interpreters of his compatriot’s music. A fabulous saga drawn from the Kalevala, these legends focus on four episodes: from Lemminkäinen’s meeting The Maidens of Saari to his Return, by way of his stay in Tuonela and its well-known Swan—one of the best-loved pieces in the entire history of music, in which the English horn solo suggests the song of the bird floating above the dark waters of Tuonela. On the occasion of the work’s first performance in Helsinki (Finland), more than a century ago, the critics rightly remarked on the ‘hypnotic violence’ of this music, its breathless melodies and an orchestra as reminiscent of Wagner’s as of Debussy’s.

Franck Mallet