Via Scandinavia to China

In March 2023, philharmonie zuidnederland will come to Utrecht with Brit Duncan Ward, the orchestra's new chief conductor since September 2021. For the all-Scandinavian program, they will be joined by an internationally renowned soloist on an unusual instrument, the Chinese Wu Wei, who plays a large mouth organ, the sheng. There he will provide the Dutch premiere of the Concert for sheng and orchestra by the Norwegian Rolf Wallin. Then comes the Second Symphony by the Finn Jean Sibelius, who especially in the first movement sneaks Finnish folk music in. In the heroic and dramatic Finale, many Finns (but not Sibelius) recognized their struggle for independence.