Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra | Santtu-Matias Rouvali | Víkingur Ólafsson
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Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Santtu-Matias Rouvali, conductor
Víkingur Ólafsson, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73
Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100
Finland has only 5,5 million inhabitants – a good third fewer than Switzerland – yet it keeps astonishing the music world with a steady stream of outstanding new talent. Central Europe can only marvel. The conductor leading the fabulous Concertgebouw Orchestra when it comes to Lucerne this summer is also a Finn: 40-year-old Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Chief Conductor of London's Philharmonia Orchestra. A trained percussionist with a specialty in marimba, he once played soul and funk in a band and more or less stumbled into his current profession by chance. When he moves on the podium, shaping the music with effortless fluidity, you can see where he comes from – not to mention the fact that Rouvali can conduct two different meters with his hands while marking a counter-rhythm with his feet. All of which comes unmistakably to the fore in Prokofiev's high-impact Fifth Symphony. In the finale, it celebrates a dream and unfolds into a glorious hymn to the happy human spirit. And Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto, which Rouvali performs with Víkingur Ólafsson, promises to be just as thrilling: let's swing!
Photo © Chris Lee
Santtu-Matias Rouvali, conductor
Víkingur Ólafsson, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73
Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 100
Finland has only 5,5 million inhabitants – a good third fewer than Switzerland – yet it keeps astonishing the music world with a steady stream of outstanding new talent. Central Europe can only marvel. The conductor leading the fabulous Concertgebouw Orchestra when it comes to Lucerne this summer is also a Finn: 40-year-old Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Chief Conductor of London's Philharmonia Orchestra. A trained percussionist with a specialty in marimba, he once played soul and funk in a band and more or less stumbled into his current profession by chance. When he moves on the podium, shaping the music with effortless fluidity, you can see where he comes from – not to mention the fact that Rouvali can conduct two different meters with his hands while marking a counter-rhythm with his feet. All of which comes unmistakably to the fore in Prokofiev's high-impact Fifth Symphony. In the finale, it celebrates a dream and unfolds into a glorious hymn to the happy human spirit. And Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto, which Rouvali performs with Víkingur Ólafsson, promises to be just as thrilling: let's swing!
Photo © Chris Lee
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