Susanna Mälkki conducts the Frankfurt Radio Symphony at the Alte Oper on May 16 & 17. The concert will begin with the Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg’s Parada, an orchestral work that has been critically praised by critics: “Parada‘s gorgeous opening sequence of string-dominated chords launched a superbly controlled and paced single-movement structure, at once somber and bursting with invention.” (Sunday Telegraph)
American-Israeli violinist, Gil Shaham, will perform Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2. Although widely regarded as more “conservative” in demeanor than his First Concerto, the work features cynical and child-like ideas developed with impressive rhythmic and harmonic variety. Concluding the program is Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2, which the composer referred to as ” a confession of the soul.” Usually associated with dark colors and sounds, Susanna Mälkki believes “[the] 2nd Symphony can also sound incredibly cheerful and hopeful,” She emphasizes: “This music is never sentimental, rather very open-hearted, very honest – we should always keep this in mind when making music.” (Berliner Morgenpost)
Watch a live stream of the concert on May 17 at 2 pm (EST), available via Youtube: