We join RNCM student conductors and International Artist Diploma musicians for an afternoon of extraordinary music making in the BBC Philharmonic Studio.

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and RNCM: International Artist Diploma Performance 2

MediaCityUK

Sibelius Iron Works Vaughan Williams

Gasteig HP8

In this striking exploration of Nordic soundscapes, Chief Conductor John Storgårds will flex every Finnish musical muscle as he leads the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra from the icy beauty of the Arctic to a Danish climax that revels in the raw power of human resilience.

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BBC Philharmonic - Northern Lights

The Bridgewater Hall

Northern Lights

Sol Gabetta returns to Antwerp, following her stunning performance of Lalo’s concerto last season, this time captivating audiences with Elgar’s Cello Concerto. Heralded by Gramophone as ‘one of the best around’, Gabetta’s performance is a masterclass in balancing stillness and glorification, imbuing the piece with profound emotion. Maestro Mikko Franck, renowned for his mastery of orchestral timbres, leads the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra through this poignant journey, culminating in Strauss’s majestic Tod und Verklärung. A concert not to be missed by lovers of deep musical expression.

Sol Gabetta shines with Elgar

Queen Elisabeth Hall

Music Center De Bijloke

Mozart “Great” Mass

Martin Marietta Center for the Performing Arts

Led by Principal Guest Conductor Tabita Berglund, the DSO’s Northern Lights Festival begins in Finland with Rautavaara’s pairing of orchestra with recorded birdsong, and Sibelius’s breathtaking, stormy Violin Concerto performed by renowned soloist Christian Tetzlaff. Continuing to Berglund’s native Norway, Grieg’s incidental music to Ibsen’s Peer Gynt features some of the composer’s most iconic passages.

Northern Lights Festival | Tetzlaff Plays Sibelius

Detroit Symphony Orchestra

At the Paliesius Manor – talented pianist Morta Grigaliūnaitė and music by Finnish composers! The axis of this program – the piano work of one of the most important Finnish composers of the last century, Einojuhanos Rautavaara (1928–2016). Often called a mystic, Rautavaara drew inspiration from literature, religion, philosophy and his own dreams and childhood memories. This is illustrated by such titles of works as "The Gift of Dreams", "The Sermon on Fire" and "The Angel of Light". At the same time, Rautavaara perfectly understood the inner world of man and its nuances. The composer's creative process involved a constant search for different means of expression, maneuvering between the intangible world and the need for virtuoso expression by the performer.

Morta Grigaliūnaitė (piano, Lithuania)

Paliesius Manor

A single hand must conquer the entire keyboard. Maurice Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand was originally composed for the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein. Yuja Wang, the extravagant, top-class pianist, takes on this challenge of extreme dexterity and subsequently plays a second piano concerto. In Einojuhani Rautavaara's work, composed in 1969, cantabile melodies and arpeggios meet a modern sound language – a powerful firework display between tradition and innovation.

Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra / Yuja Wang / Esa-Pekka Salonen

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

Returning to Spivey Hall by popular demand after his astounding debut in 2024, Alexander Malofeev has created a brilliant program of musical geography for us, opening with three Nordic composers and concluding with four Russians. At just 24 years old, Malofeev displays mature interpretations and emotive depth far beyond his years. Known for his precise yet lyrical playing, he effortlessly blends technical mastery with a deep understanding of the emotional essence of the music he performs. With a rapidly growing international career, Malofeev continues to rise as one of the most exciting young pianists of his generation.

Alexander Malofeev

Clayton State University

In the fourth part of Esa-Pekka Salonen's residency, the conductor and composer is joined by the world-renowned pianist Yuja Wang to perform not one, but two concertos: Einojuhani Rautavaara's Piano Concerto No. 1 and Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand. Before that, Jean Sibelius' groundbreaking one-movement Symphony No. 7 in C major. The concert concludes with Claude Debussy's beloved symphonic sketch La Mer (The Sea).

Salonen & Wang x 2

Berwaldhallen

Beethoven’s symphony features birdsong melodies he transcribed, while the great 20th-century Finnish composer Rautavaara’s work is a “Concerto for Birds and Orchestra”, with the recorded sounds of curlews, shore larks, whooper swans and others the soloists running throughout. Mayrhofer’s Recycling Concerto was written for the virtuosic percussionist Vivi Vassileva. Together they have collected and tuned an enormous battery of percussion from repurposed rubbish, which Vassileva makes full use of over the course of this powerful and thought-provoking work.

Recycling Concerto

Barbican Centre

Saffron Hall

Beethoven’s symphony features birdsong melodies he transcribed, while the great 20th-century Finnish composer Rautavaara’s work is a 'Concerto for Birds and Orchestra', with the recorded sounds of curlews, shore larks, whooper swans and others the soloists running throughout.

Britten Sinfonia: Recycling Concerto

Making his BroadStage debut, Russian pianist Alexander Malofeev is renowned for his remarkable technical precision and profound musical maturity. He first gained international recognition at age 13 when he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians in 2014. Amadeus praised his “crystal clear sounds and perfect balance,” highlighting his exceptional artistry beyond his years.

Alexander Malofeev, piano

The Broad Stage

Composed in 1969, Einojuhani Rautavaara’s Piano Concerto No 1 is packed with shimmering, gleaming beauty and unbounded joy, its percussive drive tempered by moments of astonishing impressionistic colour.

London Symphony Orchestra/Tarmo Peltokoski

Enjoy the delicate flight of angels in works by Sir James MacMillan and Dame Judith Weir, and Caroline Shaw’s haunting To the Hands, which brings the sacred sounds of Grigorian chant to a piece about Jesus’ crucified hands.

Howells’ Hymnus Paradisi

Milton Court Concert Hall

Welcome to a unique concert of music with roots in nature that transcends the power of language. Experience the meeting between the magnificent sound of a symphony orchestra and traditional Sami singing traditions when the Norrlandsoperans Symphony Orchestra joins forces with vocalists Katarina Barruk and Hildá Länsman. Icelandic conductor Bjarni Frímann weaves together a magical evening of music that moves between different genres and moods.

Katarina Barruk and Hildá Länsman meetNorrland Opera Symphony Orchestra

Norrlandsoperan

In the run-up to the performances of Richard Strauss's "Elektra," the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and the NDR Vokalensemble, under their chief conductors Alan Gilbert and Klaas Stok, will devote a joint concert to other heroic myths in music. It becomes clear: the oft-praised heroism itself is a myth. For just as Elektra, in her supposedly self-sacrificing fight against injustice, becomes a possessed murderer herself, so too do the protagonists of this concert program "fail": Orpheus cannot free his wife Eurydice from the underworld because he is looking around for her; Napoleon, to whom Ludwig van Beethoven originally wanted to dedicate his "Eroica," tramples on the human rights he proclaimed; and Prometheus, another hidden "dedicatee" of the symphony that has itself become a myth, also makes several mistakes as the legendary originator of human civilization...

NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra & Vocal Ensemble / Klaas Stok / Alan Gilbert

Anyone who wins the junior section of the legendary International Tchaikovsky Competition at the age of 13 is under special scrutiny. Even ten years later, Alexander Malofeev continues to fulfill the associated expectations with flying colors. Since then, the Russian, dubbed a "world revolution on the piano" by the Wiener Standard, has collected numerous other prizes and performed with the world's greatest orchestras. In 2022, he stood in for Yevgeny Kissin with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. "The audience went wild with enthusiasm," wrote the Frankfurter Rundschau. At the Elbphilharmonie, the still only 23-year-old now devotes himself to both the grand masters of Russian piano music and darkly shimmering works from Northern Europe.

Alexander Malofeev, Piano

Pianist Yuja Wang joins forces with conductor and composer Thomas Adès in a dramatic piano concerto by the Finnish luminary Einojuhani Rautavaara. Adès also leads Saariaho’s Oltra mar — an ethereal meditation on love, time, and death — as well as Ives’s Orchestral Set No. 2 and America (A Prophecy), Adès’s own foreboding view of our nation’s fate.

Yuja Wang & Thomas Adès

David Geffen Hall

The young Swedish-Norwegian violinist Johan Dalene has long demonstrated that virtuoso violin music is also at home in Northern Europe. As one of the world's most sought-after young artists, he champions the composers of his Scandinavian homeland. He recorded the album "Nordic Rhapsody" with pianist Christian Ihle Hadland, on which the two immerse themselves entirely in the Nordic soundscape, sometimes light-heartedly, sometimes profoundly. He also presented the violin concerto by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen at his acclaimed Elbphilharmonie concert last year.

Johan Dalene, Violin

Pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet takes the stage in Aram Khachaturian’s rarely heard Piano Concerto, one of the Armenian composer’s greatest triumphs. Stéphane Denève leads orchestral music inspired by the sounds of nature, from Respighi’s extravagant Pines of Rome to Rautavaara’s Cantus Arcticus, both featuring recordings of birdsong. Lera Auerbach’s Icarus captures, in her words, the title character’s “wish to reach the unreachable."

Jean-Yves Thibaudet & Pines of Rome

“Music is Life, and like it, it is inextinguishable.” Composer Carl Nielsen penned these words across the top of the score of his Fourth Symphony, now best known as “The Inextinguishable” — the Fourth sets out to “express what we understand by the spirit of life or manifestations of life, that is: everything that moves, that wants to live.” Nielsen never provides a clear story, instead unleashing the music to express a range of pure feeling, both primal and pleasantly chaotic; guest conductor Rune Bergmann is perfectly suited for this ambitious symphony.

Paul Lewis Plays Grieg

Warner Grand Theater

Eroica kicks off the 25/26 Masterworks Season in Capitol Theater, encapsulating the timeless beauty of classical music. We welcome back guest violinist Vladyslava Luchenko to perform Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, whose captivating performance will infuse the stage with emotional depth and brilliance. The evening begins with Rautavaara’s Suite for Strings, a work filled with lush textures and evocative melodies and concludes with Beethoven’s groundbreaking Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major ‘Eroica’. With its sweeping energy and bold sound, the Eroica Symphony celebrates the triumph of the human spirit.

Eroica

Overture Center for the Arts

French Fantasies

Worthing Assembly Hall

Debussy’s Prélude à “L’après-midi d’un faune” opens with ethereal melodies, while the sound world of the Nordic landscape comes alive in Rautavaara’s Cantus arcticus, as recorded birdsong weaves through the composition. Grieg’s Peer Gynt features “Morning Mood” and the hair-raising “In the Hall of the Mountain King”— both pop-culture staples you’ll recognize instantly.

Masterworks 2: Landscapes

Martin Woldson Theater

Is there a more beautiful violin concerto than this one? The violinist Joseph Joachim, in any case, called Mendelssohn's E minor concerto the "most precious," the "heart jewel" among German violin concertos. Much of it was innovative at the time of its premiere (1845): that the violin (not the orchestra) takes on the major themes, that the solo cadenza comes in the middle of the first movement, that the movements flow into one another without a break. Later concertos were influenced in many ways by this—but Mendelssohn's beautiful melodies remained unrivaled.

Popular Unpopular

Bochumer Symphoniker

Piano world revolutionary comes to Ashland to perform on The Raven. The young “Russian genius” (Corriere della Sera) came to international prominence when, in 2014, he won the International Tchaikovsky Competition for Young Musicians at age thirteen.

Oregon Center for the Arts

The world beyond the Arctic Circle is a realm like no other – vast expanses, majestic mountains and crystal-clear fjords define its breathtaking beauty. The Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing has captured these landscapes in music, performing alongside the Arctic Philharmonic, the world’s northernmost professional orchestra. Their programme combines Nordic classics from composers like Grieg and Rautavaara with specially commissioned pieces by film composers including Frode Fjellheim (title song to »Frozen«) and Jacob Shea (»Planet Earth II«).

Arctic Philharmonic / Eldbjørg Hemsing / Nicolò Foron

Parents with babies up to one year old and expectant mothers can make themselves comfortable on round baby blankets, and listen to the string sounds of Ensemble Resonanz. Familiar melodies invite the audience to sing along. Pram parking spaces and baby changing units are available both in the city districts and in the Elbphilharmonie.

Twinkle Concert XS / Elfi Baby Concert

Elbphilharmonie

This year, the Tapiola Sinfonietta Spring Chamber Music Festival will be held in Dipoli, Otaniemi. In three different concerts, listeners will be treated to a diverse and out-of-the-box musical experience. This year, the festival program has been designed by Tapiola Sinfonietta horn player Ilkka Hongisto and violinist Kanerva Mannermaa. The theme of the program is beauty, and each concert embodies the theme in its own way.

Chamber music in Dipoli – Singing without words

Aalto University

Rising cello superstar Zlatomir Fung returns to perform Dvořák’s elegy for a long-lost love, the impassioned Cello Concerto. “Jaw-dropping brilliance,” reports the Dallas Morning News of Zlatomir Fung. Rautavaara’s Cantus Arcticus layers the recorded cries for wild birds over mesmerizing waves of orchestral sound. As Janáček’s spirited Lachian Dance opens the program, Sibelius’ iridescent final work, the Seventh Symphony, brings it to a poignant close.

Dvořák in Love

Eastman Theatre

In the Recital Hall of the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Slovenian conductor Martina Batič and the NDR Vokalensemble present works by contemporary composers such as Rautavaara, Sandström and Einfelde.

NDR vocal ensemble: “Nordic A Cappella” in the Elphi

A tribute to Hans van Manen, this program showcases the nuance and elegance of the Dutch choreographer’s extensive oeuvre. Often dubbed “the grandmaster of contemporary ballet” and globally recognized for his unparalleled body of work, van Manen's program—curated by Rojo—celebrates his dynamic vision as a leading choreographer of his generation. Van Manen's profound interest in human connection takes center stage in this collection of four of his renowned ballets, including the much-anticipated SF Ballet premiere of his critically acclaimed 5 Tango's. With wide-ranging musical context from the maestro of nuevo tango, Astor Piazzolla, to Bach, Beethoven, Britten, and beyond, his hallmark inventive style is on full display, blending classical and contemporary themes while showcasing the dynamic range of our dancers.

Van Manen: Dutch Grandmaster

War Memorial Opera House

In the Hanover Christ Church, the Slovenian conductor Martina Batič and the NDR Vokalensemble present works by contemporary composers such as Rautavaara, Sandström and Einfelde.

NDR Vokalensemble: "Nordic A Cappella" in the Christuskirche

Christuskirche

Join us for an evening of mesmerizing music at the "In the Beginning" concert, taking place on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at 7:30 PM. This enchanting event will be held at the Broome County Forum Theatre, located at 236 Washington Street, Binghamton, NY. 

The concert will feature a captivating lineup of compositions, starting with Einojuhani Rautavaara's "In the Beginning," followed by Jean Sibelius's Symphony No. 3, and culminating with Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3. The talented Andrew Russo will grace the stage, performing on the piano, promising an unforgettable night of classical music.

Tickets are priced between $28 and $69, offering a range of seating options to accommodate all attendees. In a special effort to encourage young music enthusiasts, the box office is offering free tickets for kids 17 and under. Don't miss this opportunity to experience a night of exquisite music and talent. Secure your tickets now and be part of a memorable musical journey.

In the Beginning

Broome County Forum Theatre

Experience an evening of exceptional musical artistry with the debut performance of violinist Johan Dalene and pianist Sahun Sam Hong. Johan Dalene, a prodigious talent recognized as Gramophone’s 2022 Young Artist of the Year, brings his Stradivarius to life with a masterful touch that has captivated audiences worldwide. His performances are noted for their refreshingly honest musicality and deep engagement with both musicians and listeners. Accompanying him is the award-winning pianist Sahun Sam Hong, whose colorful style and riveting energy have earned him accolades on prestigious stages such as Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.

The program for the evening features a rich and diverse selection of works, including Schumann's Sonata No. 1 in A Minor, Rautavaara's Notturno e Danza, Ravel's Tzigane, Lutoslawski's Partita for Violin and Piano, and Grieg's Sonata No. 2 in G Major. Each piece promises to showcase the duo's technical prowess and interpretative depth, offering a compelling journey through different musical landscapes.

Johan Dalene's career is marked by performances with leading orchestras and in celebrated recital halls globally. His recent highlights include debuts with the BBC Proms, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and San Francisco Symphony. Equally passionate about chamber music, Dalene has collaborated with renowned artists and performed in prestigious venues such as New York’s Carnegie Hall and London’s Wigmore Hall.

Sahun Sam Hong, praised for his clarity, confidence, and wide range of rich colors, has been a prominent figure in the chamber music scene. His innovative transcriptions and performances at major festivals like Marlboro and MusicMenlo have solidified his reputation as a versatile and dynamic artist.

This performance promises to be a memorable evening, celebrating the extraordinary talents of Johan Dalene and Sahun Sam Hong through a thoughtfully curated program that spans a wide array of musical expressions.

Johan Dalene Violin & Sahun Sam Hong Piano

War Memorial and Performing Arts Center

Spring’s Awakening presents a musical commentary on the natural world. Einojuhani Rautavaara’s innovative work Cantus Arcticus features recordings of arctic birds in dialogue with the various instruments of the orchestra, creating harmonious fusions that express the longing for unity between humans and nature. The dynamic and introspective Tipping Point by Huang Ruo is a work that reflects on the delicate balance between humanity and the environment, and contrasting percussive rhythms, representing the urgency of our ecological crisis. Schumann’s Symphony No. 1, the “Spring Symphony,” is a jubilant expression of renewal and rebirth. From its exuberant opening to its triumphant finale, Schumann captures the essence of springtime with lush orchestrations and joyous melodies, reminding us of the eternal cycle of life and the promise of new beginnings.

Spring’s Awakening

First Congregational Church of Berkeley

Revel in the connection between birdsong and music.  From the puckish Haydn to the moving Jocelyn Morlock, from the Vaughan Williams, featuring our very own virtuosic Christina Bouey, to recorded sounds of the Arctic Circle in the Eijanu Rautavaara, take a musical journey in celebration of birds in flight.

Flight of Fancy

Ithaca College

The Land, the Sea, and the Birds

Newport Performing Arts Center

Dima Slobodeniouk conducts a program that is entirely dedicated to Nordic dream images and winter landscapes: For large parts, Einojuhani Rautavaara's Piano Concerto No. 3 exudes peace and mysticism; one would almost think it was written at night in a snow-covered hut in front of a warming fire. The Finnish pianist Olli Mustonen, recently awarded for his recording of this work, returns to the Munich Philharmonic as soloist with this "gift of dreams." The dark, demonic side of the night, which can rob you of sleep, inspired Rautavaara's student Esa-Pekka Salonen to create his orchestral work "Insomnia," which uses a large orchestra and special sound magic to describe the nighttime discomfort until the saving sunrise. Tchaikovsky's 1st Symphony, on the other hand, is more conciliatory and calming: with this symphony, Tchaikovsky made an atmospheric declaration of love to the Russian winter with all its manifestations of horse-drawn sleighs, frost flowers and pale winter sunlight.

Rautavaara Salonen Tschaikowsky

For many years, Einojuhani Rautavaara was an inspiring and highly respected professor of composition at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. His students included the conductor and composer Esa-Pekka Salonen and tonight's soloist, Olli Mustonen. Rautavaara's 3rd Piano Concerto conjures up an atmosphere of calm and dreaminess, while Salonen's "Insomnia" explores the dark thoughts that haunt us, especially at night. Tchaikovsky gave his 1st Symphony the title "Winter Dreams" and takes the audience into a picturesque winter landscape. The youth concert full of northern lights, dream images and musical magic will be hosted by Malte Arkona.

2. Jugendkonzert

Winter Concert November 2024

Smith Square Hall

A ‘concerto for birds and orchestra’, Rautavaara’s ‘Cantus Arcticus’ blends recorded birdsong from the Arctic Circle with hauntingly beautiful orchestral music. This is followed by Lutosławski’s compelling and atmospheric Fourth Symphony which packs a dazzling variety of sounds into a brief but eventful two movements. Folk-inspired ‘Suita Rustica’ by Kaprálová draws on traditional Moravian melodies to create a colourful and energetic tribute to her Czech heritage. The evening ends with Martinů’s big-hearted Fourth Symphony, written in America in 1945, an optimistic work brimming with lyrical melodies.

FSO - Martinů, Lutosławski, Rautavaara, Kaprálová

World-renowned violinist Vadim Gluzman opens the Masterworks season with Tchaikovsky’s towering Violin Concerto, a magnificent combination of breathtaking melodies and stunning virtuosity. Following Sibelius’ majestic Finlandia and Rautavaara’s tribute to the birds of the Arctic, the program concludes with Respighi’s Pines of Rome . From the Villa Borghese to the Appian Way, Respighi’s brilliant work never fails to thrill as it peaks in a blaze of brassy glory.

Sounds of Nature

Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall

 I.-a Pet's Symphony: “my Crush On Dogs, Birds And Cats” 2024-2025

Miami Design District

Klaus Mäkelä conducts Dmitri Shostakovich' multifaceted Symphony No. 5, featured in his and the Oslo Philharmonic's first album in our new Shostakovich Series.

Release Concert Klaus Mäkelä

Oslo Concert Hall

“The National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada) thrives on exploring both iconic masterpieces and innovative works," says our Music Director, Naomi Woo. "In our 2024 season, we'll delve into pieces that have shaped music history, building upon the legacies of past composers while also gesturing towards the future.” 

Witness the exceptional talent of Canada's young musicians as they tackle the beloved orchestral classic Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra. Discover fresh voices through Violet Archer's Divertimento and experience a World Premiere by SOCAN emerging composer Danial Sheibani.  

NYO Canada presents Horizons Tour

The Royal Conservatory of Music

Finnish conductor Dalia Stasevska conducts this program of works by her homeland’s greatest composers – Sibelius’ extraordinary Fifth Symphony, Einojuhani Rautavaara’s Cantus Arcticus and Kaija Saariaho’s Harp Concerto featuring soloist Xavier de Maistre.

Dalia Stasevska Conducts Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony

Sydney Opera House

Soundscapes

Friends of the Coronado

Music is life: Life in its purest form, happy and sad, deep and shallow, dramatic and poetic. This is what the Fourth Symphony by the Danish composer Carl Nielsen is about. There is no program, says Nielsen, but the elementary components of life are found directly in the music, flowing through it. With the Norwegian conductor Rune Bergmann we travel to the (far) north: Besides Nielsen's symphony, there is the Cantus Arcticus by the Finn Einojuhani Rautavaara and the famous piano concerto by the Norwegian Edvard Grieg. One often has the feeling of directly experiencing, tasting, seeing the landscapes of the North, their fresh colors, their traditions in music from the Scandinavian countries. And not only in pieces with such an obvious programmatic background as Rautavaara's Cantus Arcticus , which is described in the subtitle as a concerto for birds and orchestra: Bird sounds are added to the sound of the instruments via tape. Spring voices of the birds in the marshland, the melancholy song of the lark, the longing calls of migrating swans … Grieg's piano concerto tells us of cheerful folk festivals, of the rough landscape of the fjords, of the longing for light and warmth – or perhaps just of music? Which brings us back to Nielsen, to the powerful, moving sound paintings of his Fourth Symphony: The indelible – does music only tell us about music here too? Rune Bergmann and the French star pianist Lise de la Salle invite us to find out in concert.

Refreshing

Theater Bonn Opera House

The cool of the Arctic Circle meets the warmth of Ancient Greece in this colorful program led by the debut of Dalia Stasevska. This trailblazing conductor and unwavering activist will take the listener on a profound musical journey. 

Stasevska Soars: Sibelius’ 5th

Heinz Hall

Let there be light! The UK premiere of James MacMillan’s Fiat Lux, conducted by the composer himself.

Let There Be Light

Still waters run deep: Sakari Oramo and the BBC Symphony Chorus perform Brahms’s German Requiem, plus two emotionally-charged rediscoveries from postwar Finland.

Oramo conducts Brahms

Winter Classics Concert

Newton High School

We start amongst the shadowy landscapes of Northern Europe in Sibelius’s tone poem, Pohjola’s Daughter – its rich orchestration and charming cast of melodies depicting the troublesome pursuits of the great hero Väinämöinen as he attempts to win the trust of the fabled daughter of the North. Then, abandoning the mortal realm, a bewitchingly intense journey from one extreme to another in Gubaidulina’s ‘In Tempus Praesens’, a violin concerto which sees Tobias Feldmann deliver us from the murk of Hell to the heights of Heaven. Finally, brightness and bliss in Rautavaara’s Seventh Symphony, ‘Angel of Light’, an auroral tapestry of his childhood memories, prized for its deep spirituality.

An evening of Finnish wonder

The Honors recital of pianist and composer Shayan Kalantar is a demonstration of his piano studies at UC San Diego. Featuring work by composers which have come to guide his compositional direction like Rachmaninoff and Godowsky, as well as one of his own compositions combining field recordings with acoustic improvisation. It is a window into the world which sparks his creativity, while guiding his compositional direction.

Shayan Kalantar - Undergraduate Honors, Composition

University of California San Diego

Tualatin Valley Symphony Presents "For the Birds" Featuring Five Bird-Inspired Compositions.

For the Birds Concert

Northwest Christian Church

Marvel at the beauty and fragility of our world in a family concert of sound and storytelling, with Grégoire Pont’s drawings projected live alongside thrilling music from the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

Our Precious Planet

Madeleine and Karl Weiss Memorial Concert

MassBay Community College

Curtis Institute of Music students perform over 100 free recitals during the semester, held on most Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings. Admission requires advance registration and is complimentary.

Curtis Brass and Percussion Ensemble

Curtis Institute of Music

Guitar Chamber Music 2026

Royal Academy of Music

Drop in during your lunch break and discover a wide range of performances for free with our Monday and Thursday Lunchtimes.

Monday Lunchtimes

Royal Northern College of Music

Fans of more traditional Classical music will delight in this airy program that highlights music from the 18th century. SPCO flutists Julia Bogorad-Kogan and Alicia McQuerrey team up for a spritely double concerto that will keep you on the edge of your seat with its momentum — a similar feel to the titular symphony by Joseph Haydn whose theme earned its nickname from the uneven gait of a hen. In addition to the breathy woodwinds, you'll also hear from strings, with a soulful solo by violinist Eunice Kim and a more contemporary work for string orchestra rooted in the fiddling traditions of the composer's native Finland.

Haydn’s The Hen Symphony

Wooddale Church

Saint Paul's United Church of Christ

In November, the concert hall of Müpa Budapest will be filled with spring birdsong. The program, which will remind us of the importance of preserving our planet, will open with the music of Einojuhani Rautavaara, the greatest Finnish composer of the second half of the twentieth century, who pays tribute to the breathtaking Finnish landscape and wildlife with a concerto composed for birds and orchestra. The closing piece will be a symphony by Beethoven, himself also a passionate nature lover. The symphony evokes memories of rural life, including a bit of woodwind ornithology. Between the two, Mozart’s final violin concerto—a fresh and colorful composition—will be performed, featuring Georgian Lisa Batiashvili as the “fearless, tonally rich and technically immaculate” (The Guardian) soloist. The orchestra will be seated under an enormous tree symbolizing the love of nature and our sense of responsibility for the natural world.

Concert for Nature

Müpa Budapest

In November, the concert hall of Müpa Budapest will be filled with spring birdsong. The concert, which will remind us of the importance of preserving our planet, will open with the music of Einojuhani Rautavaara, the greatest Finnish composer of the second half of the twentieth century, who pays tribute to the breathtaking Finnish landscape and wildlife with a concerto composed for birds and orchestra. The closing piece will be a symphony by Beethoven, himself also a passionate nature lover. The symphony evokes memories of rural life, including a bit of woodwind ornithology. Between the two, Mozart’s final violin concerto—a fresh and colorful composition—will be performed, featuring Georgian Lisa Batiashvili as the “fearless, tonally rich and technically immaculate” (The Guardian) soloist. The orchestra will be seated under an enormous tree symbolizing the love of nature and our sense of responsibility for the natural world.

Concert for Nature – Storytime with Iván

Combining unbridled energy and perfect balance, The Purcell Singers will lead you through the soundworlds of Whitacre, Brahms, Sandström, Rautavaara, and Kõrvits.

When David Heard

In November, the concert hall of the Isarphilharmonie will be filled with spring birdsong. The program, which will remind us of the importance of preserving our planet, will open with the music of Einojuhani Rautavaara, the greatest Finnish composer of the second half of the twentieth century, who pays tribute to the breathtaking Finnish landscape and wildlife with a concerto composed for birds and orchestra. The closing piece will be a symphony by Beethoven, himself also a passionate nature lover. The symphony evokes memories of rural life, including a bit of woodwind ornithology. Between the two, Mozart’s final violin concerto—a fresh and colorful composition—will be performed, featuring Georgian Lisa Batiashvili as the “fearless, tonally rich and technically immaculate” (The Guardian) soloist. The orchestra will be seated under an enormous tree symbolizing the love of nature and our sense of responsibility for the natural world.

Tour: Concert for Nature in Munich

Isarphilharmonie, Munich

A closeness to nature and birdsong run through the Festival Orchestra’s guest performance. The program, which will remind us of the importance of preserving our planet, will open with the music of Einojuhani Rautavaara, the greatest Finnish composer of the second half of the twentieth century, who pays tribute to the breathtaking Finnish landscape and wildlife with a concerto composed for birds and orchestra. The closing piece will be a symphony by Beethoven, himself also a passionate nature lover. The symphony evokes memories of rural life, including a bit of woodwind ornithology. Between the two, the program includes Bartók’s unfinished piano concerto, composed in the final months of his life, which likewise brings the murmur of the forest into the concert hall. The soloist in the concerto, the Russian-American Kirill Gerstein, has been described by international critics as a sonic poet who enchants his listeners, and as one of today’s most intelligent musical thinkers, an artist who always finds something new and interesting in music. In a spirit of love and responsibility toward nature, the orchestra will take its place beneath a giant tree.

Tour: Concert for Nature in Ferrara

Teatro Comunale di Ferrara

Tour: Concert for Nature in Antwerp

Koningin Elisabethzaal, Antwerp

The string players of Royal Northern Sinfonia, in some of the region’s most beautiful churches and theatres.

Royal Northern Sinfonia Winter Tour

 St Cuthbert’s Church, Carlisle

 St Hilda’s Church, Hartlepool

St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Pickering

The Fire Station, Sunderland

St Michael’s Church, Alnwick

St George’s Church, Cullercoats

Church of St Peter and St Paul

St Gabriel’s Church, Heaton

Hexham Abbey, Hexham

Kendal Parish Church, Kendal

St Peter’s Church, Redcar

St Mary the Virgin, Richmond

All Saints Rothbury

From birdsong to birthdays, nature’s ritual communications and celebrations take center stage in a program that contemplates our feathered friends. LA Phil Creative Director Esa-Pekka Salonen leads Sibelius’ surging and soaring swan-inspired Fifth Symphony—a piece commissioned by the Finnish government to honor the composer’s 50th birthday—and the US premiere of Gabriella Smith’s How to Be A Bird.

Einojuhani Rautavaara

Events

Upcoming events

Sep 24 - Nov 20, 2026

Guitar Chamber Music 2026 · Royal Academy of Music

Oct 5, 2026

Monday Lunchtimes · Royal Northern College of Music

16 - 17 Oct, 2026

Haydn’s The Hen Symphony · Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra

13 - 16 Nov, 2026

Concert for Nature · Budapest Festival Orchestra

Nov 14, 2026

Concert for Nature – Storytime with Iván · Budapest Festival Orchestra

Past events

Jun 24, 2026

BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and RNCM: International Artist Diploma Performance 2 · BBC Philharmonic

23 - 24 May, 2026

Sibelius Iron Works Vaughan Williams · Munich Philharmonic

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