Boulanger, Knussen, and Schönberg with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

On May 16, David Afkham makes an exciting debut with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, bringing his “considerable interpretive insight” (Chicago Tribune) to an expressive and eclectic program. 

The concert opens with Lili Boulanger’s haunting and deeply emotional D’un soir triste, one of her final compositions, written in 1917–1918 when the composer was gravely ill. Violinist and FRSO concertmaster Petri Aarnio acts as soloist for Oliver Knussen’s compact and energetic Violin Concerto, Op. 30, which the composer described as “a tightrope walker progressing along a (decidedly unstable) high wire strung across the span that separates the opening and closing sounds of the piece.” 

The program closes with Arnold Schöberg’s rich symphonic poem, Pelléas und Mélisande. Based on Maurice Maeterlinck’s famous Symbolist play of the same name, Schönberg composed the work early in his career, before the more radical compositions he’s known for today. Pelléas und Mélisande is heavily influenced by the late Romantic traditions of Wagner and R. Strauss, soaked in dense, chromatic harmonies and thick orchestral textures.