Aulis Sallinen's premiere celebrates Kuopio 250th anniversary at KSO's season concert on 27th of February

Published 25.02.2025

Eva Alkula as the soloist of Roope Mäenpää’s concerto for Finnish zither

The Kuopio Symphony Orchestra’s season concert on Thursday 27th of February at 6 pm will feature the premiere of Aulis Sallinen’s commissioned work From The Shadows Of Old Songs, which celebrates Kuopio 250th anniversary. The evening’s soloist will be Eva Alkula, who will interpret Roope Mäenpää’s concerto for the Finnish zither called Käsiin on the Kuopio Music Centre Concert Hall stage. The evening will culminate in Toivo Kuula’s South Ostrobothnian Suite No 1 conducted by Atso Almila.

Aulis Sallinen’s From The Shadows Of Old Songs is a piece commissioned by the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the City of Kuopio in 2025, and it will be premiered at the concert on the 27th of February. Sallinen himself has described the work special to him and said that he has found a new approach to composing with this work.

The Finnish zither (ie. kantele) is rarely heard as a solo instrument with a symphony orchestra. Roope Mäenpää’s concerto Käsiin was originally commissioned specifically for Eva Alkula. The name of the work is related to the clients, i.e. the musicians of Tampere. “I started with the idea that this is first and foremost a work for musicians and craftsmen – even though the end result is of course for all audiences. On the other hand, for me, the name also means a return. I started with Stanisław Jerzy Lec’s aphorism, in which ‘sound and man return to the instrument’, whereas when composing, one often thinks exactly the opposite,” says composer Roope Mäenpää.

The Finnish zither musician Eva Alkula works particularly with contemporary music, electronic music and Japanese-influenced music. She has given concerts in, among others, numerous European countries, the United States and Japan.

The evening ends with Toivo Kuula’s South Ostrobothnian Suite No 1, in which he depicts the landscapes, natural phenomena, folk culture and traditions of his native regions. The composer’s rise was interrupted by his early death during the dramatic twists and turns of the Civil War. Kuula, originally from Ostrobothnia, was mainly active in Vyborg, but gave Ostrobothnian folk music a magnificent orchestral form in the two South Ostrobothnian suites he composed.

Before the concert, at 5:30 pm at the Kuopio Music Centre Hall of Light, a Pre-Talk event open to everyone is organized.

Tickets: 33 € / 27 € senior citizens and groups min. 20 persons / 11 € children under the age of 16 and students / 4 € concert day discount ticket for students and young people under the age of 20.

KUOPIO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Producer & Publicity Manager Elina Prepula, tel. 044 718 2364, elina.prepula(at)kuopio.fi
www.kuopionkaupunginorkesteri.fi | Facebook: Kuopionkaupunginorkesteri | Instagram: kuopionkaupunginorkesteri