Grieg & Sibelius - Masterworks II

This program brings together four works that reflect more than a century of different orchestral approaches to Nordic sounds. Elfrida Andrée’s Overture in G minor represents an important early Scandinavian voice. A pioneer for women’s rights in Sweden and one of the country’s first professional female musicians, Andrée wrote music grounded in Romantic forms and clear structural design. Her overture, among her earliest mature orchestral works, features dramatic contrast, hymn-like themes, and confident orchestration influenced by the German symphonic tradition.

Edvard Grieg’s Piano Concerto, performed with special guest pianist, Lorraine Min, offers a distinct Norwegian perspective shaped by folk-influenced melodic contours and rhythmic patterns. Written when Grieg was in his mid-twenties, the concerto combines virtuosic piano writing with carefully balanced orchestral support and an emphasis on long-range structure.

Poul Ruders’ Tundra, composed in 1990 as a tribute to Jean Sibelius, reframes elements of Sibelius’s musical language through a contemporary idiom.

Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 3 completes the program with a work that marks a decisive shift in his symphonic style. Scored for a more modest orchestra and organized in three movements, the Third Symphony demonstrates Sibelius’s belief that broad symphonic scope could be achieved through the concentrated development of small musical ideas.