Nordic Soundscapes

“When you think of “Nordic,” what comes to mind? To me it’s Northern Lights, Finnish lakes, Icelandic fire and ice, Norwegian fjords, Swedish life style.  Pristine and clear beauty. The first half of this concert centers around music by two Icelandic pop stars–singer Björk who is famous for her unique songs, renaissance voice and quirky lyrics, and Kjartan Sveinsson, pianist of the band Sigur Ros. His music seems to go back to the Renaissance time. There is nothing contemporary. It’s pure beauty. Grammy Award winning soprano Hila Plitmann joins us.  In the second half, we mount Sibelius’ famous Symphony No. 5. While working away in his composition hut in the Finnish countryside, a group of swans flew right above Sibelius’ head. Struck by sudden inspiration, he composed the famous brass theme of the last movement in his Symphony No. 5.”