KSO’s joyful concert programme on 26th of March takes Movements in Time

Published 19.03.2026

Harpsichord soloist is versatile Matias Häkkinen

The Kuopio Symphony Orchestra’s Movements in Time season concert on Thursday, 26th of March at 6 pm offers a joyful and colourful programme spanning several eras. The concert, organized at the Kuopio Music Centre Concert Hall, features Jean Philippe Rameau’s narrative Hippolyte et Aricie Suite, Francis Poulenc’s Concert Champêtre with harpsichord soloist Matias Häkkinen, Britta Byström’s wandering A Walk to Beethoven, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s radiant Symphony No. 4. The orchestra is led by Swedish violinist Malin Broman.

The Movements in Time concert on the 26th of March opens with Jean Philippe Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie Suite, which guides the audience into the worlds of sailors, hunters, maidens, and the underworld. The evening’s solo work is Francis Poulenc’s merry, humorous, and at times breathtakingly fast-moving Concert Champêtre.

“This concerto is written for a very large orchestral ensemble in the context of harpsichord works. However, it is skillfully composed so that the orchestra can play with rich character while the harpsichord still comes through naturally and does not get overshadowed in terms of volume. In this concert, I will play a period instrument that suits this work and purpose — a ‘giant harpsichord’ built according to early 20th-century ideals, which sounds quite different from the more familiar harpsichords built after Baroque-era models,” soloist Matias Häkkinen explains.

Matias Häkkinen is a versatile freelance artist who works as a soloist, conductor, and artistic planner in several orchestras and organizations. He is also the artistic director of Ensemble Nylandia and the BarokkiKuopio Festival. As a musician and section leader, Häkkinen has performed with nearly all Finnish city orchestras as well as with the European Union Baroque Orchestra, the Finnish Baroque Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Avanti!, and the Finnish National Opera. Häkkinen also teaches at the Sibelius Academy in the Early Music department.

After the intermission, the audience will hear Britta Byström’s wandering A Walk to Beethoven. “Britta Byström and I have worked together in 20 works and her series of Walks are almost like puzzles, with a theme of her own ”walk” she weaves in themes of Beethoven” says Malin Broman, who leads the concert.

The concert concludes with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 4, composed during the height of Beethoven’s creative period of flourishing and often considered a bright breath between the more dramatic Third and Fifth Symphonies. “Beethoven 4 is one of the happiest pieces I know. Full of jokes and folk-playing the symphony starts in an almost Mahleresque manner. Pure genius!”, Broman enthuses.

Malin Broman was appointed concertmaster of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2008. She is in great demand as an artistic director, soloist, and chamber musician. Broman regularly leads the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and is increasingly sought after as a musical leader/soloist. In this role, she has performed with the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, ACO Collective (Australia), the Nordic Chamber Orchestra, and the Tampere Philharmonic. She is currently the artistic director of the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra.

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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