Kullervo
'We recognize these tones as our own, even though we have never heard them before.' When Jean Sibelius presented his Kullervo to the Finnish musical scene in 1892, it made a resounding entrance. Rightly so, for everything about this peerless symphony for chorus and vocal soloists sounds new and original. Strings like rustling forest, rooting woodwinds, brass chorales of granite and fierce timpani salvos: all the ingredients of Sibelius' penetrating writing are present. His first, rarely performed masterpiece tells the fateful story of the tragic anti-hero Kullervo, who pursues success but reaps doom. It's right up Finnish conductor Leif Segerstam's alley.
Programme
Sibelius Kullervo, opus 7
Performers
Leif Segerstam
conductor
Helena Juntunen
mezzo soprano
Octopus Symphonic Choir
choir
Cappella Amsterdam
choir
Tommi Hakala
baritone