October 2nd concert offers Heroic Romance and world premiere of Pasi Lyytikäinen’s Piano Concerto 

Published 25.09.2025

The Kuopio Symphony Orchestra’s soloist will be pianist Risto-Matti Marin

In celebration of Kuopio’s 250th anniversary, the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra will showcase Northern Savonian talent in Kuopio on Thursday, October 2nd at 6 pm. The Heroic Romance season concert will take place at the Kuopio Music Centre Concert Hall and will feature the world premiere of a piano concerto by Pasi Lyytikäinen, originally from Lapinlahti. The soloist is Kuopio-born pianist Risto-Matti Marin, for whom the piece was composed. The program also includes Väinö Haapalainen’s Lemminkäinen Overture and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 Eroica, conducted by Christian Karlsen.

Composer Pasi Lyytikäinen is known in Kuopio for the Pasimusic Festival, which was held several times during the 2010s. His piano concerto, titled Romantic, was written specifically for pianist Risto-Matti Marin. True to its name, the concerto is stylistically genuinely romantic and traditional, featuring flowing melodies and heroic pathos.

The concert opens with the Lemminkäinen Overture by Väinö Haapalainen, who was born in Rautavaara, Northern Savonia. Haapalainen was a highly relevant composer in his time, producing not only orchestral and chamber music but also scores for five films in 1945, including Anna Liisa and Suomisen Olli Surprises. Like many others, his work has faded into obscurity in our time.

The evening concludes with Ludwig van Beethoven’s heroic Symphony No. 3 Eroica. The concert is conducted by Swedish maestro Christian Karlsen, who has deeply immersed himself in contemporary music and succeeded where many have tried: making classical music cool. Karlsen began his career as an assistant to Esa-Pekka Salonen and has quickly risen to become one of the most significant conductors of his generation, leading numerous prestigious orchestras and contemporary ensembles across Europe and the United States.

Before the concert, at 5:30 pm at the Kuopio Music Centre Hall of Light, 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 (available for purchase on the concert day at the Kuopio Music Centre Ticket Office)

Prices include the Kuopio Music Centre service fee 2 € / ticket. The service fees vary depending on the place of purchase.

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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