On November 20 & 21, Susanna Mälkki leads the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra in an eclectic program of works by Ferruccio Busoni, Francesco Filidei, Mozart, and Liszt. Garrick Ohlsson, the winner of the International Chopin Competition in 1970, is renowned for his interpretations that combine athleticism with gossamer lightness. This concert presents a piano concerto from Mozart’s late period in a key the composer reserved for his most triumphant works.
Also included in the program is Busoni’s Berceuse élégiaque, a piece written as a memorial to his mother, which features bold harmonies that are evocative of Schönberg in their expressionism. Filidei’s Fiori di fiori focuses on the soundscape of the secondary sounds produced when playing the organ: the clicks of the bellows and valves and the patter of the instrument. Liszt’s symphonic poem Les Préludes is a grand, free-flowing work, based on an ode of that name by Alphonse de Lamartine.