Øland conducts Nielsen & Sibelius

Nielsen and Sibelius – two giants of the 20th century Scandinavian musical tradition, born in the same year in 1865. Both with an international outlook, widely traveled, they each came to define something national. Nielsen was on a long trip around Europe when he met his future wife. They were married in Paris and they were also together in Greece then The Helios Overture was composed, inspired by the strong southern sun. Sibelius's 2nd Symphony is from the previous year, from 1902, and it has been popular since its premiere. Sibelius, who had studied in Berlin and Vienna, was acclaimed for works that were believed to contain the Finnish folk soul.

Conductor Christian Øland has studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, a place that has educated the very big name conductors, conductors who have also been important in Danish musical life: Jorma Panula, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leif Segerstam, to name just a few of them. Through teaching, Øland has got the Sibelius tradition under its skin. Jesper Koch's Horn Concerto, A twilight Song, is composed for Sønderjylland Symphony Orchestra's hornist Jeppe Solløs Rasmussen. At the premiere in 2022, he told Flensburg Avis that Jesper Koch has captured the soul of the horn in the concert: forest, valleys, longing.

Program:

C. Nielsen: Helios Overture
J. Koch: Horn Concerto (A Twilight Song)
J. Sibelius: Symphony No. 2

Conducter

Christian Øland

Soloists:

Jeppe Solløs Rasmussen, horn