The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Susanna Mälkki and two musicians from the East Coast of the USA who are not afraid to go over, under, through and right past musical barriers perform a brand-new piece by one of the hottest contemporary composers in the world today. Superstars Esperanza Spalding and Claire Chase offer an evening overflowing with stage charisma and street credibility. The new composition by Felipe Lara has been commissioned jointly by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic and is being premiered in Helsinki.
In his Slavic dances, Dvořák turned his rural background into a victory, riding the dance music he heard in the village festivals of his youth to world fame. Dvořák wove his childhood dumkas, polonaises, and sousedskas into the body of European art music so skilfully that he was invited to New York to enlighten American composers on how to make “Slavic dances” for American music – i.e. how to combine folk music and high culture in such a way that the concert audience cheers and calls for more.
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK
Slavonic Dances op. 46
FELIPE LARA
Double Concerto (world premiere)
SUSANNA MÄLKKI
conductor
CLAIRE CHASE
flute
ESPERANZA SPALDING
voice and doublebass
