Roots Festival: Firebird

Takemitsu, Ravel and Stravinsky sought isnpiration for their works from cultures both near and distant. Saariaho’s Leino Songs, performed here by soprano Tuuli Lindeberg, explore the Finnish artistic pursuit of beauty dating back over a century.

Ryan Bancroft conductor  
Tuuli Lindeberg soprano

Toru Takemitsu How Slow the Wind for orchestra  
Maurice Ravel Two Hebrew Melodies  
Kaija Saariaho Leino Songs  
Intermission  
Igor Stravinsky The Firebird Suite

Music is, without a doubt, a universal language, and through it, the people of the world can express themselves and understand one another. Takemitsu found a connection between the strictly defined Japanese culture and French impressionism. In many of his songs, Ravel was interested in non-Western musical cultures. His two Hebrew melodies do not seek authenticity, but rather the magic of an ancient culture. In the same way, Kaija Saariaho’s Leino Songs explore the Finnish artistic pursuit of beauty and harmony dating back over a century. In The Firebird, Stravinsky immersed himself in the world of Russian fairy tales and found there the seed of modernism.   

Tickets 10–35 € + subscription fees (starting at €1.50 + 0.65% of the total amount of the order www.lippu.fi)