KSO's concert on 21st of November opens 250th anniversary celebration of Kuopio city

Published 14.11.2024

Award-winning guitarist Ismo Eskelinen as the soloist of Jukka Tiensuu’s concerto

The Kuopio Symphony Orchestra’s Prelude to the Kuopio Jubileum season concert on Thursday 21st of November at 6 pm opens 250th anniversary celebration of the Kuopio city at the Kuopio Music Centre’s Concert Hall. The first performance of the overture and fanfare by Atso Almila, composer and 2nd conductor of the KSO, will put you in a festive mood. After Robert Kajanus’ Finnish Rhapsody, you will hear Jukka Tiensuu’s guitar concerto Aim interpreted by Ismo Eskelinen, who has ventured out into the world from Northern Savo. The concert ends with Antonin Dvořak’s cheerful 8th symphony conducted by Ari Rasilainen. Kuopio city council chairman Marko Kilpi brings the greeting of the city to the concert. The concert will be streamed on the orchestra’s YouTube channel.

The concert that kicks off Kuopio’s 250th anniversary celebration combines festive Finnish and European tunes from the present and past centuries. Atso Almila’s overture and fanfare will put the audience in a festive mood. Almila writes: “At the beginning this piece is floating at lake Kallavesi on a Sunday morning, when the church bells can be heard among the birdsong – as the day begins the tempo speeds up tremendously. The end of the piece can also be used as a separate fanfare if necessary. I thank Anssi Tikanmäki estate and Tatu Kemppainen for allowing me to borrow their melodies from Savolainen metsä and Orpojen joulu.”

Finnish Rhapsody by Robert Kajanus which contains Finnish folk songs and polka rhythms, demonstrates national romanticism in orchestral music at its best. After that we enjoy the guitar concerto Aim composed by Jukka Tiensuu in 2005. The evening’s soloist, guitarist Ismo Eskelinen describes Aim as a journey from the dark hours before dawn through the heat of the afternoon to evening parties ending with the peacefulness of the night. Tiensuu’s work also includes two cadenzas wherer the soloist can improvise.

The concert ends with Antonin Dvořak’s sunny and cheerful Symphony No 8 from the Romantic era. The symphony uses Bohemian folk tunes as its material in all four parts. The work is full of beautiful themes, whose carefree nature sometimes creates an improvisatory atmosphere. The orchestra will perform under the baton of Ari Rasilainen, a conductor familiar to the Kuopio audience. Rasilainen has had an extensive international career in Europe as chief conductor, principal guest, artistic director and guest conductor.

The concert will be live streamed on the KSO YouTube channel and it will be available for a month.

On the same day, 21st of November at 12 noon you can enjoy KSO’s open rehearsal, where the orchestra will play excerpts of the evening’s concert programme under the baton of Ari Rasilainen. Admission to the open rehearsal is free. In addition, you can enjoy restaurant Oodi’s buffet lunch in the Hall of Light between 11 am and 2 pm. The price of lunch is 12 euros.

Exceptionally, the Pre-Talk is not organized before this season series concert. The concert and open rehearsal are part of the Kuopio 250th anniversary program.

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
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