During the series, audiences discovered the contemporary Nordic school of music, represented by composers such as Lotta Wennäkoski, Outi Tarkiainen, Kaija Saariaho and Hans Abrahamsen (the music of the latter two was performed at a separate chamber concert named ‘Music of Today’). Not only the participation of a whole host of Finnish conductors representing different generations – from the elder Esa-Pekka Salonen, who led the orchestra for many years and has now completed the cycle, to the young and already internationally sought-after Emilia Hoving, who chose for her concert a well-known programme that included Grieg’s ‘Peer Gynt’ suite and Sibelius’ Second Symphony. In the middle of this generational showdown of Finnish composers was Santtu-Matias Ruvali himself, who focused on Sibelius (his Third Symphony and most famous concerto for violin and orchestra) and Danish composer Carl Nielsen, whose concerto for violin and orchestra and monumental Fifth Symphony were performed during the cycle.

The greatest benefit of the concert series is to place many of these works in the context of the lives of the composers who composed them, and to see the interconnections between the music of Sibelius and Nielsen and the works of young composers now working in the Nordic countries. The opportunity to get acquainted with contemporary composers from Finland, Sweden and Iceland was interesting. For example, the Swedish composer Mats Larsson Gothe participated in a talk about Swedish nature and the Swedish climate before performing his work, and also spoke about his work ‘Submarea’. Incidentally, like some of the other works in the cycle, it was accompanied by a video of the depths of the ocean and its inhabitants made by Swedish filmmaker and environmentalist Joakim Odelberg. Although this gave the concerts an additional sense of mixing different realities and spaces and working with new media, on the whole the films were rather boring and did not always correspond to the interesting musical findings of the pieces performed, rather distracting us from them by attracting us with fish swimming across the screen.

But the ‘Notes on Nature’ meetings, which took place before each concert, were very interesting – and for this we can say a huge thank you to the Philharmonia Orchestra. Firstly, before one of the talks you could sing a real Icelandic song, and during each meeting the audience was treated to real Swedish cinnamon buns from the Swedish Church in London. Secondly, at each meeting it was possible to voice your opinion on the state of the planet and the climate, and interact with other participants and guest experts – writers, composers, and even farmers. For example, a huge personal impression for the author of this article was the story about her work by a young farm girl from the south of Britain, who showed a video about cows and her work, spoke interestingly and with a lot of detail about the difficulties of farming and the love of her work. After this talk, I became more aware of the demands of the people who had recently demonstrated in London. The talks developed our interest in the nature around us, helped us hear lots of interesting facts about northern landscapes, and brought context to our understanding of the pieces we were about to hear.

Inviting unique young instrumentalists to perform the violin concertos of Sibelius, Nielsen, and the premiere of Magnus Lindberg’s Viola Concerto was also a very strong point of the cycle. Bomsori Kim performed Nielsen’s concerto for violin and orchestra, and the Spaniard Maria Dueñas impressed the audience with her passionate, individually coloured, almost calligraphic performance of Sibelius’ concerto for violin and orchestra. Internationally renowned viola player Lawrence Power, who is the Southbank Space’s resident this season, also made a real sensation. He presented the UK premiere of the Concerto for Viola and Orchestra by Finnish composer Magnus Lindberg, with whom he was able to talk about the specifics of the work for viola, and this was the highlight of the whole series.

Lindberg’s Viola Concerto was written especially for soloist Lawrence Power, and is a commission for four orchestras simultaneously – it will still be performed in Hamburg and St. Louis (USA). It premiered on 28 February 2024 in Helsinki with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Nicolas Collon. The viola, through its various expressive modes, symbolises human loneliness and and efforts against a backdrop of majestic and uncontrollable music, which runs its course and resembles reality, confronting the individual with various challenges that are completely unrelated to the individual’s efforts. In the concerto this contrast was emphasised by the contrasting difference between the main theme and the viola’s side theme, which quickly interchanged like the currents of a whirlpool, often giving the viola’s sound a variety of shades that, like different feelings, tear the troubled soul apart.

Lindberg’s concerto is an incredible piece of music that relies on the expressive nature of the viola. People who heard it for the first time at a Philharmonia Orchestra concert were stunned and amazed at what a composer could do with a solo viola with its seemingly absent connection to an orchestra whose composition was specifically limited by the composer. Magnus Lindberg himself took a bow after the concert, embracing both his soloist and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, with whom he has a long-standing friendship. Interestingly, this concert is Lindberg’s return to working with the Philharmonia after a twenty-year hiatus – his works have previously been performed by other London orchestras. This concert, and the opportunity to hear a second performance of a new work from a modern classicist, was the culmination of the Northern Soundscapes series. I wouldn’t be surprised if after this concert the British public will run to buy tickets to Helsinki or Stockholm – now they want to see this nature with their own eyes, eat a couple of cinnamon buns and enjoy the rich musical culture of these countries in situ. Thank you to the Philharmonia Orchestra and all the organisers of this concert series for broadening our horizons and knowledge of contemporary and classical music of the North, and drawing connections between them!