Spring 2020 /Lappeenranta City Orchestra/Saimaa Sinfonietta
Musical landscape postcards in Saimaa
The wonderful, pure nature and biodiversity of Saimaa is an experience for all of us, but even more magical for our guests with its green forests, open lake and monumental cliffs. The Lappeenranta City Orchestra offers musical landscape postcards for this scenery from around the world as the landscape begins to sing in its various colours.
Our new artistic director, Conductor Erkki Lasonpalo, will be presenting himself at the end of January with a French programme, with cellist Senja Rummukainen, an internationally rising star and finalist of the latest Pjotr Tshaikovski cello competition, as soloist. In the spring programme, romantic classics meet neo-classics with soloists such as violinist stars Rebecca Roozeman and Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä, piano colour virtuosos Eero Heinonen and Fanny Söderström, singing competition winners soprano Kaisa Ranta and baritone Jussi Vänttinen, and top Baltic singers soprano Kristina Zmailaite and tenor Edmundas Seilius.
Henri Sigfridsson, a piano artist familiar to our audience, will once again appear in front of our orchestra and, for the first time ever, also perform as a conductor alongside his piano concerto solo. The Easter Concert will feature Ludwig van Beethoven’s great Mass Op. 86 to celebrate the Beethoven Jubilee Year in collaboration with the South Karelia Classical Choir and a group of top soloists. We will be performing Saimaa Sinfoniettas together with the Mikkeli City Orchestra, with the renowned conductors Kolbjørn Holthe and our main guest Vytautas Lukočius conducting the colourful concerts.
Our orchestra will also give concerts in schools, the main library and nursing homes, bringing the musical Saimaa to those places as well. And our orchestra has once again been invited to an international arena, the Mariumpolén music festival in Lithuania next June.
Come and join the scenery as a “landscape photographer”, as music belongs to everyone and we are playing precisely for You.
Bring your friends along to enjoy live orchestral music and to experience the empowering sound of our orchestra!
Welcome!
Milko Vesalainen, General Manager
Saimaa Sinfonietta – Piano spectacle
In collaboration with the Mikkeli City Orchestra
Finnish piano pedagogue event in Mikkeli on 7–8 February
Fri 7 February at 7 pm in Lappeenranta Hall
Conductor Erkki Lasonpalo
Soloists Fanny Söderström, piano and Eero Heinonen, piano
Programme:
Ludwig van Beethoven: Prometheus Overture
Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor Op. 25
Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major Op. 58
Tickets €30/€21
For lighter evenings
Thu 13 February at 7 pm in St. Mary’s Church of Lappee
Conductor Kolbjørn Holthe
Soloist Kreeta-Julia Heikkilä, violin
Programme:
Dmitri Shostakovich: Chamber Symphony Op. 110a
Fartein Valen: Violin Concerto Op. 37
Ludwig van Beethoven: Romance in F minor Op. 50
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 1 in C major Op. 21
Tickets €30/€21
Saimaa Sinfonietta – Russian evening
In collaboration with the Mikkeli City Orchestra
Fri 6 March at 7 pm in Lappeenranta Hall
Conductor Erkki Lasonpalo
Soloist Rebecca Roozeman, violin
Programme:
Igor Stravinsky: Concerto in D for strings
Sergei Prokofjev: Symphony No. 1 in D major – Classical Symphony
Sergei Prokofjev: Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor Op. 63
Tickets €30/€21
Diamonds on the snow
Thu 19 March at 7 pm in Lappeenranta Hall
Conductor Vytautas Lukočius
Soloists Kaisa Ranta, soprano and Jussi Vänttinen, baritone
Programme:
Swaying gently, singing broadly and
Paavo Heininen: Divertimento Op. 148, premiere
Darius Milhaud: Le Bœuf sur le toit Op. 58
Tickets €30/€21
At the peak of romanticism
Thu 2 April at 7 pm in Lappeenranta Hall
Conductor and soloist Henri Sigfridsson, piano
Programme:
Felix Mendelssohn: Märchen von der schönen Melusine
Robert Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor Op. 54
Franz Schubert: Symphony No. 2 in B major D 125
Tickets €30/€21
Easter Concert – C major mass
Wed 8 April at 7 pm in St. Mary’s Church of Lappee
Conductor Erkki Lasonpalo
Soloists Virva Puumala, soprano, Anu Ontronen, alto,
Heikki Halinen, tenor and Matti Turunen, bass
South Karelia Classical Choir, trained by Toomas Kapten
Programme:
Ludwig van Beethoven: Mass in C major Op. 86
Tickets bought in advance €20, S-Etukortti discount €3
All tickets at the door €25, no concessions
Chamber concert – Schubert’s Octet
Thu 16 April at 7 pm in Helkiö Hall, Lappeenranta Music Institute
Ensemble of the City Orchestra
Programme:
Franz Schubert: Octet in F major
Tickets bought in advance €20, S-Etukortti discount €3
All tickets at the door €25, no concessions
Meditation
Thu 23 April at 11 am and 7 pm in Lappeenranta Hall
Conducted by concertmaster Elias Lassfolk
Relaxing music while sitting or lying down with wool socks on.
Bring an exercise mat!
Tickets €10
May Day versus ‘Albatrossin matkassa’
In association with the Lappeenranta City Orchestra and the Dragoon Band
Fri 1 May at 2 pm in Lappeenranta Hall
Conductor Riku Huhtasalo
Soloists Mari Palo and Hannu Lehtonen
Programme:
Junnu Vainio is known as one of the finest Finnish lyricists. This year marks 81 years since his birth. His extensive and high-quality collection of works includes more than 2,400 well-known texts, the most famous of which from different stages of the lyricist’s career will be performed by Hannu Lehtonen and Mari Palo.
All tickets €25, no concessions
Sounds of spring
Thu 14 May at 7 pm in Lappeenranta Hall
Conductor Vytautas Lukočius
Soloists Kristina Zmailaite, soprano and Edmundas Seilius, tenor
Programme:
Ludwig van Beethoven’s soprano and tenor arias from the opera Fidelio and duets of great emotion from the musical play ‘’Die schöne Schusterin’.
Louise Farrenc: Symphony No. 3
Tickets €30/€21