Dynamic and magnificent Baroque music enchants on 29th of October

Published 22.10.2026

Kuopio Symphony Orchestra led by violinist Kreeta-Maria Kentala

The War and Peace season concert of the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra on Thursday, 29th of October at 6 pm takes audiences on a journey through the dramatic twists and turns of Baroque music under the direction of acclaimed violinist Kreeta-Maria Kentala. The concert, organized at the Concert Hall of Kuopio Music Centre, features works by Johann Joseph Fux, Heinrich Biber, Johann Heinrich Schmelzer and Georg Friedrich Händel.

On the 29th of October, audiences will immerse themselves in the world of Baroque music guided by violinist Kreeta-Maria Kentala, a specialist in historical performance practices. Drawing inspiration from her roots in the rich folk fiddling tradition of Kaustinen, Kentala breathes fresh life into these Baroque masterpieces. The programme promises music that is energetic, inventive, colourful, brilliant, and highly entertaining.

“During the Baroque era, the visual arts were full of drama, and music, too, teemed with angels on one side and demons on the other. Many of Europe’s long wars also found their way into musical depictions. In this concert we practise the noble art of fencing, drunken soldiers bellow before battle, cannons thunder, the Viennese resist the Turks besieging their city, and finally we celebrate the arrival of peace with fireworks,” Kentala explains.

The concert opens with Fux’s Turcaria, a work reflecting Europe’s fascination with Turkish fashion and Oriental exoticism during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Fux combines military rhythms, dance-like vitality, and the imagination of the era into a vibrant musical tableau.

Biber’s Battalia à 10 is believed to portray scenes and emotions associated with the Thirty Years’ War of the seventeenth century. The piece includes military march rhythms, percussive effects in the strings, and even daring polytonality that was highly innovative for its time. The result is a Baroque firework display full of surprises.

Schmelzer’s Die Fechtschule (The Fencing School) is rhythmically sharp, playful, and filled with musical swordplay. The work transports listeners into the excitement and drama of a seventeenth-century fencing hall, offering both virtuosic performance and good-humoured theatricality.

The evening concludes with Händel’s Music for the Royal Fireworks, originally composed for a royal outdoor celebration in London in 1749. The music is bursting with energy, majestic in character, and instantly recognisable.

The duration of the concert is approximately 1 hour 20 minutes, including an interval.

Before the concert, at 5.30 pm at the Hall of Light, there will be a Pre-Talk open to all, with the artists of the evening.

Tickets: 34,60 € / 28,10 € senior citizens and groups min. 20 persons / 10,60 € children under the age of 16 and students.

The Copilot AI service was used in the production of this text.

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