Sibelius Festival!

Currently the Seattle Symphony is in the midst of its Sibelius Festival, where it will perform all of Sibelius' symphonies and other select works over the course of several weeks. This past weekend I was able to attend the first series of performances featuring the first two symphonies and guest conductor Thomas Gausgaard.

Luminous Landscapes: Sibelius Symphonies 1 & 2

Saturday, March 14, 2014

8 PM

Thomas Dausgaard, Conductor

Finlandia, Op. 26, No 7 - Jean Sibelius

Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39 - Jean Sibelius

Andante, ma non troppo - Allegro energico

Andante, ma non troppo lento

Scherzo: Allegro

Finale (quasi una fantasia): Andante - Allegro molto

-Intermission-

Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43

Allegretto

Andante, ma rubato

Vivacissimo

Finale: Allegro moderato

With Dausgaard, the conductor of the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, at the helm, this was easily the best performance by the Seattle Symphony I had witnessed thus far. Dausgaard brought a sense of excitement and energy that the orchestra had previously lacked, making the performance much less mechanical than previous performances. Dausgaard's passion and extensive knowledge of Sibelius was very apparent. Unfortunately I will be out of town for the remaining concerts of the series, but if you get the chance and are able to definitely find some tickets to the remaining concerts.