Mozart’s classical elegance and Tchaikovsky’s emotional power at the season concert on May 7th

Published 30.04.2026

Award-winning pianist Eero Heinonen as soloist of the KSO

The Kuopio Symphony Orchestra’s season concert Radiant and Elegant on Thursday, May 7th at 6 pm combines the elegance of Viennese Classicism with the emotional intensity of the Romantic era. The concert, organized at the Kuopio Music Centre Concert Hall of the, will feature pianist Eero Heinonen as soloist, performing W. A. Mozart’s chamber-like Piano Concerto No. 14. As a counterpart to the concerto, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s dramatic Symphony No. 4 will be heard. The orchestra is conducted by the KSO First Conductor Kolja Blacher.

The orchestra’s first conductor Kolja Blacher has curated a program where Mozart’s classical elegance and Tchaikovsky’s romantic emotional power beautifully complement one another. Tchaikovsky was a great admirer of Mozart. According to Blacher, both composers share a rare ability to convey human emotion through music—clearly, sincerely, and profoundly. That’s precisely why their works harmonize so well within the same concert program.

The first half of the concert features Mozart’s Haffner Symphony and Piano Concerto No. 14, with Eero Heinonen as soloist. “The concerto in E-flat major has sometimes been considered almost a preparatory work for The Marriage of Figaro, and after the orchestral introduction, one can assign the different themes of the first movement to characters in the drama. There are, of course, many possibilities, and they are personal; the intention is not to illustrate any specific story with the music. The cadenza gives the soloist—the main character—a culminating opportunity to speak,” describes Eero Heinonen.

After the intermission, the evening culminates in Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4, whose opening measures are often seen as depicting fate—according to Tchaikovsky, “that fateful force which prevents a person from attaining the goal of happiness.”

Renowned Finnish pianist Eero Heinonen, a major figure in Finnish piano artistry, launched his long and versatile career with a victory in the national Maj Lind Competition in 1966. Over the six decades, Heinonen has performed as a soloist with numerous European orchestras, given solo recitals around the world, and appeared extensively as a chamber musician and lied pianist. He has recorded all of Sibelius’s piano works and produced countless radio recordings. Heinonen has a special affinity for Mozart’s piano concertos; his repertoire includes the composer’s complete concerto output, which he performed with Okko Kamu and the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra in the 1980s. Heinonen has presented Mozart’s concertos both in Finland and abroad.

The duration of the concert is approximately 1 hour and 50 minutes, including an intermission.

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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