Description:

Osmo Vänskä, the charismatic Finnish-born music director of the Minnesota Orchestra, brings music of his native land to The Philadelphia Orchestra. The warm austerity of Sibelius's Symphony No. 2 from 1900 finds foil in Minea, a new work by contemporary Finnish composer Kalevi Aho. The prolific Aho, who at 14 symphonies has already doubled Sibelius's seven, has established a musical voice as piquant and distinctive as that of his famous forerunner. Joining Vänskä for the hypnotic Piano Concerto No. 2 of Franz Liszt (whose Hungarian lineage links him linguistically, at least, to the Finns) is French pianist Jean-Frédéric Neuburger, in his Philadelphia Orchestra debut.

Help The Philadelphia Orchestra fight hunger in the Delaware Valley. Donate a non-perishable good at The Kimmel Center prior to this concert as part of the National Orchestras Feeding America 2010 Food Drive. Food donations collected at this performance will be generously matched by the Campbell Soup Company. For more information, please visit www.philorch.org/fooddrive.

Related Concerts:

Audio Samples:

LISZT - Piano Concerto No. 2

SIBELIUS - Symphony No. 2

Concert Enhancements:

Free Pre-Concert Conversation one hour prior to concert (About Pre-Concert Conversations)

Program Notes:

March 12, 2010 Download Adobe Acrobat to view Program Notes.

Series Information:

Part of the 2010 Matinee Collection, and package Friday Aft B 8

Part of the 2010 Odyssey Collection, and package Friday Aft B 8

Part of the 2010 Weekday Collection, and package Friday Aft B 8