Beethoven’s incendiary and revolutionary Grosse Fuge forever changed music. The almost incomprehensible genius of his “Great Fugue” has powered every genre of music since—from classical to jazz, Motown to heavy metal. We’ll explore equally fiery works by Brahms and Finnish composer Sebastian Fagerlund, inspired by the musical bonfire Beethoven ignited. After the Grosse Fuge, music would never be the same.

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MUSIC ON FIRE: Beethoven, Brahms & Fagerlund

Reed College

John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra

MediaCityUK

The swelling ocean pounds rocky cliffs in this concert of Scandinavian greats. Ning Feng, a “wonderful player with a creamy, easy tone and an emotional honesty” (Washington Post), makes his long-awaited Seattle Symphony debut playing Sibelius’ ethereal Violin Concerto. Danish composer Carl Nielsen believed that music is life, and the will of life is “inextinguishable.” This idea inspired his rich and urgently expressive Fourth Symphony.

Sibelius & Nielsen

Benaroya Hall

Nielsen’s Fourth Symphony, in his own words, expresses “the spirit of life or manifestations of life, that is: everything that moves, that wants to live … just life and motion…”. This incendiary work makes for a fitting conclusion to this programme, conducted by John Storgårds, which seeks to define the human spirit. Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, arising from conflict seeks to celebrate an unshakeable sense of optimism. These two pieces bookend two more introspective UK premieres, Michigan-born composer James Lee III’s Shades of Unbroken Dreams with pianist Alexandra Dariescu – a piano concerto marking the 60th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s historic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech – and Helena’s Song arranged for violin and orchestra from Sebastian Fagerlund’s unnerving operatic family drama Autumn Sonata, performed tonight by our Chief Conductor play-directing from the podium.

The Spirit of Life

The Bridgewater Hall

“Music is life and therefore inextinguishable,” was the motto Carl Nielsen chose for his dramatic fourth symphony – The Inextinguishable. Nielsen’s work will be interpreted by Hannu Lintu, principal conductor of the Finnish national Ooppera Baletti theatre in Helsinki. The programme opens with Korngold’s emotional violin concerto in which the composer combines late Romantic phrasing with evocative film themes. The world-renowned American violinist Gil Shaham makes a welcome return to Berwaldhallen.

Gil Shaham In Korngold’s Violin Concerto

SR Berwaldhallen

Saraste ・Fagerlund, Sibelius

Festspielhaus Bregenz

Augustin Hadelich performs Barber’s Violin Concerto, full of expressive melodies for soloist and orchestra alike. Dima Slobodeniouk conducts Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2, with moods ranging from pastoral to ecstatic, and Stonework by Finnish composer Sebastian Fagerlund, whose music has been called “fiercely energetic and glitteringly intricate” (BBC Music Magazine).

Sebastian Fagerlund

Events

Upcoming events

Jul 27, 2025

Saraste ・Fagerlund, Sibelius · Wiener Symphoniker

20 - 22 Nov, 2025

Augustin Hadelich Performs Barber · New York Philharmonic

Past events

Jul 13, 2024

MUSIC ON FIRE: Beethoven, Brahms & Fagerlund · Chamber Music Northwest

May 15, 2024

John Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra · BBC Philharmonic

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