Symphony to offer warm tribute to composers from Nordic lands
For many in central Ohio, the winter weather can’t end soon enough.
The Columbus Symphony, on the other hand, just can’t seem to get enough of cold climates.
Back in January, the symphony made a musical trek to Moscow with a pair of Russian Winter Festivals.
Now, this weekend, the ensemble will present a Nordic Myths Festival. Works by two composers from Nordic nations — Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) of Norway and Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) of Finland — will be performed.
“Geographically, that part of the world has given so many wonderful composers and artists that really bring the beauty and the uniqueness of their nature to music,” said Music Director Rossen Milanov, who will conduct the concerts in the Ohio Theatre.
The program will open, however, with a work from Germany: the prelude and Liebestod from Richard Wagner’s 1865 opera “Tristan und Isolde.”
“I wanted to find … something that would draw people in, into listening to music with a slower speed that would unfold gradually in front of their eyes,” Milanov said.
Next, guest pianist Alessio Bax will join the orchestra for Grieg’s “Piano Concerto.”
Though a native of a different part of Europe — his hometown is Bari, Italy — Bax speaks with appreciation of the concerto’s Nordic roots.
“If you can think of one piece for piano that qualifies as a great warhorse, as well as Nordic repertoire, that’s the Grieg Piano Concerto,” said Bax, whose honors include winning piano competitions in England and Japan. The musician is making his first appearance with the Columbus Symphony.
“There are these textures in the orchestration and sonorities there — heartwarming and, at the same time, kind of have this coolness to (them) that
one associates with Nordic countries,” Bax said.
Folk music will be heard throughout the work.
“(Grieg) was very much influenced by local culture