Dvořák, Saariaho, & Debussy with the London Symphony Orchestra

On March 12, Susanna Mälkki returns to Barbican Hall to conduct the London Symphony Orchestra in a kaleidoscopic program of folklore, light, and the ocean.

Multiple Grammy-award winning violinist Gil Shaham plays Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, with folkloric and expressive melodies laced together. Inspired by filmography, Kaija Saariaho’s ever-evolving soundscape of Laterna Magica creates feelings and imagery similar to a dream.

Of Saariaho’s works, Mälkki praised, “Kaija Saariaho is one of those very rare, great composers whose style is very clear from the start. But also in her music, there is always an element of magic; it’s some kind of musical mystery that we are discovering.”

The concert concludes with Debussy’s La mer, a richly layered seascape of glistening sounds — from iridescent light dancing on peaceful waters to the dramatic crashing of waves.