Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts Sibelius Four Legends from the Kelevala Opus 22 (1896)
This Four Legends from the Kelevala is one of the most beautiful of Sibelius' compositions I have ever heard, and the audience concurred that with a Finnish conductor, we have been the recipients of new insights and nuances in the music . The program: Lemminkainen and the Maidens of the Island; Lemminkainen in Tuonele; The Swan of Tuonela; and Lemminkainen's Return . This 45 minute long piece concluded the program. In the first portion Salonen opened with the Icelandic composer, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Metacosmos (2017) in its West Coast Premiere. The European premiere takes place in Berlin later this month. Salonen comments on the independence of Icelandic artists which is envied by everyone. This 15 minute piece was followed by R. Strauss, " Also Sprach Zarathustra ", Opus 30 (1896)(34 minutes) which was a variant in terms of what Salonen did in evoking its meanings and tonality in his conducting...The title of a loose "inte...