Himlens ljus – Musiikkitalo, Helsinki

About this event

The supernatural world, mystery, black magic, and mysticism inspire the composers featured in this concert conducted by Olli Mustonen. The evening’s thematic core revolves around untranslatable, hypnotic, and shamanistic qualities, as well as dark atmospheres and epic battles between good and evil. Mustonen’s Third Symphony draws its text from the Finnish national epic, the Kalevala. He notes that, because much of the poetry is impossible to translate, music can convey some of its untranslatable, hypnotic, and shamanistic qualities to audiences unfamiliar with the language. Prokofiev’s Third Symphony is composed from the same powerful materials as his opera The Fiery Angel and is dominated by its dark tone—black magic and superstition, sexual obsession, devilish apparitions, and the struggle between light and darkness.

Cast & creative

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  Tenor

  Ian Bostridge
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  Conductor

  Olli Mustonen
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  Conductor

  Olli Mustonen
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  Conductor

  Olli Mustonen
• A

  Composer

  Anatoly Lyadov
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  Composer

  Olli Mustonen
• S

  Composer

  Sergey Sergeyevich Prokofiev