Sound and fury at KSO's concert on 7th of November

Published 31.10.2024

Internationally successful violist Lilli Maijala as the soloist of William Walton’s concerto

The Kuopio Symphony Orchestra’s season concert at the Kuopio Music Centre’s Concert Hall on Thursday 7th of November at 6 pm starts with Anna Clyne’s Sound and Fury, which takes the audience on a journey that is both refreshing as well as calm and thoughtful. William Walton’s viola concerto will be interpreted by Lilli Maijala, one of the most internationally sought-after viola players in the Nordic countries. The concert will end with the energetic 3rd symphony of French composer Louise Farrenc. The orchestra will be conducted by Rebecca Miller. The orchestra’s repertoire for the city’s 250th anniversary spring will be announced and sales will begin on the 7th of November.

Sound and Fury by Anna Clyne, from 2019 draws its inspiration from two works: Haydn’s 60th symphony and Shakespeare’s Macbeth. According to the composer, her aim is to take the listener on a journey that is both refreshing as well as calm and thoughtful. In the fifth segment of Sound and Fury Clyne loops a harmonic progression from Haydn’s Adagio and this provides a bed of sound to support the delivery of Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow…, the last soliloquy delivered by Macbeth upon learning of his wife’s death. At the Kuopio concert, the monologue will be recited by the actor Lasse Forsgren.

William Walton’s viola concerto from 1929 is interpreted by violist Lilli Maijala. According to Maijala Walton’s music brings to mind British images: the waves of the Atlantic in the 1st movement, the London rush and dry jazzy humor in the 2nd movement, the rolling country landscapes, the storm and the aftermath in the 3rd movement. Walton lets the dark-toned instrument sing in its entire wide range, and especially the strong sections of the lowest string are eloquent. Although the work emphasizes the singing and melancholic tone of the instrument, it also proves the flexibility of the viola in delicate and virtuosic tasks.

The French Louise Farrenc at first composed only piano music, but from the 1840s onwards she increasingly composed chamber music for various ensembles as well as overtures and symphonies for the orchestra, of which three were completed. They date from the 1840s and are comparable to Mendelssohn’s last two symphonies for their brightness and energy. Attention is also drawn to how skillfully and abundantly the composer uses the orchestra’s woodwinds, whose many tones color the music expressively.

The orchestra is led by Rebecca Miller from California, who held the post of the Uppsala Chamber Orchestra from 2019 to 2023, and is a sought-after conductor in several Nordic, British and American orchestras. Passionate about working with young musicians, Miller is a regular guest conductor of the British National Children’s Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra’s Discovery program for young people.

The orchestra’s repertoire for the spring season 2025 will be announced before the concert, at 5 pm at the Kuopio Music Centre Hall of Light. After that, at 5:30 pm a Pre-Talk event open to everyone is organized.

Tickets: 33 € / 27 € senior citizens and groups min. 20 persons / 11 € children under the age of 16 and students / 4 € concert day discount ticket for students and young people under the age of 20.

KUOPIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Producer & Publicity Manager Elina Prepula, tel. 044 718 2364, elina.prepula(at)kuopio.fi
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