The 2024 programme has been announced

The Music Festival will host, among others, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Pekka Kuusisto.

One of the world’s best string orchestras, the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, can be heard in Naantali this summer, under its Artistic Director Pekka Kuusisto. This will be the second visit to Finland of the renowned orchestra, which was formed in 1977. The first visit in 1990 was also made to the Naantali Music Festival. This June’s festival will feature altogether 20 concerts.

Made up of Norway’s finest instrumentalists, the 26-member Norwegian Chamber Orchestra will perform a concert on Saturday, 8 June featuring works such as Dmitri Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony and a chamber music classic, Johannes Brahms’ Clarinet Quintet arranged for string orchestra, with the Finnish Christoffer Sundqvist as the soloist. Violinist and conductor Pekka Kuusisto has been the orchestra’s artistic director since 2021.

ENCOUNTERS WITH LEADING NAMES IN MUSIC

The Naantali Music Festival, 4–15 June 2024, presents a diverse lineup of Finnish and international stars in music, from large symphony orchestras to smaller ensembles and talented musicians who combine their skills to perform chamber music pieces. Well over 200 guest artists will appear at the festival, many performing in Naantali for the first time, including the Dutch bassoonist Bram van Sambeek, Danish flautist Janne Thomsen, Romanian violinist Ioana Cristina Goicea and Czech violinist Jakub Jakowicz. Others making their debut at the event include the South African violist, overtone singer and composer Gareth Lubbe and the Estonian conductor Olari Elts who will be conducting the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra.

– The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra is continuing the long tradition of visits by some of the world’s foremost orchestras at the Naantali Music Festival. For example, the English Chamber Orchestra has performed at the festival for ten summers. I’m also extremely happy that two outstanding Finnish symphony orchestras, the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra and the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, will once again be performing in Naantali, says Artistic Director of the Music Festival Elina Vähälä.

Elina Vähälä herself can also be heard as a soloist in TPO’s concert together with the 2022 Sibelius Violin Competition winner Inmo Yang, who captivated audiences last summer, as they perform Arvo Pärt’s Tabula Rasa, a concerto for two violins. The concert on Friday, 7 June, will also feature Anton Bruckner’s Symphony No. 4, nicknamed Romantic.

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra will be returning to Naantali with Principal Conductor Dalia Stasevska on Wednesday, 5 June, for a concert including the beloved Lemminkäinen by Jean Sibelius.

EMOTIVE PAGANINI AND THE DEVIL’S VIOLIN

Violinist Inmo Yang can also be heard as a chamber musician this upcoming summer. The audience can enjoy his virtuosic performances, for example on Saturday, 8 June, in the afternoon concert titled Emotive Paganini at Merimasku Church. The concert will also feature appearances by flautist Janne Thomsen, bassoonist Bram van Sambeek and guitarist Ismo Eskelinen.

The festival also takes a stand for peace in its own language of art. This can be seen not only in the visual identity of the 2024 event, but also in the programmes of some of the concerts For example, , the Devil’s Violin concert on 11 June will feature compositions by Sergei Prokofiev, Richard Strauss and Igor Stravinsky that highlight the absurdity of war. Just 13 years old, award-winning violinist Lilja Haatainen will showcase her talent at the Naantali Church with Giuseppe Tartini’s devilishly virtuosic Devil’s Trill Sonata.

JUSSI VATANEN STARS IN TALES FROM SPAIN

On Wednesday, 12 June, listeners can experience a Spanish atmosphere under the vaults of the Naantali Church at the concert Tales from Spain. Actor from Fallen Leaves Jussi Vatanen will interpret the text by the poet and Nobel laureate Juan Ramón Jiménez. The text is part of the musical narrative Platero y yo (Platero and I) by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, a key figure of the Golden Age of Hollywood. The concert will also feature performances by violinist Ioana Goicea, cellist Arto Noras and pianist Ralf Gothoni.

Stories from Around the World can be heard on Thursday, 6 June at a concert by the same name showcasing works that draw inspiration from folk music in different cultures, from Osvaldo Golijov to Béla Bartók’s virtuosic violin sonata and Georges Enescu’s dazzling Romanian Rhapsody. The concert will feature appearances by violinists Inmo Yang, Jakub Jakowicz and Elina Vähälä, cellist Senja Rummukainen and pianist Paavali Jumppanen.

JACKPOTS AND TURNING POINTS

The afternoon concert entitled Jackpot on Sunday, 9 June, at Raisio Church will feature two pioneering works that immediately left an indelible mark in the history of their form. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Winds and Robert Schumann’s Piano Quintet are interpreted by names such as pianist Barry Douglas, bassoonist Bram van Sambeek and French horn player Paula Ernesaks.

Turning Points, a concert held on Monday, 10 June, will feature works by three composers who followed their passion and changed the course of music history. Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3, “Eroica”, Claude Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun and Arnold Schönberg’s Chamber Symphony will be performed by names such as clarinettist Christoffer Sundqvist and pianist Paavali Jumppanen.

A CELEBRATION OF CELLOS AND OPERA IN THE MANOR PARK

Composed of six top Finnish celloists, Total Cello Ensemble will be celebrating its 30-year journey on Sunday, 9 June, with a special concert featuring cello arrangements of some of the all-time favourite pieces of classical music. The ensemble will be accompanied by guest soprano Marjukka Tepponen, known from the Finnish National Opera and international stages.

One of the most internationally successful Finnish string quartets, Meta4 will be starring in two concerts. On Friday, 14 June, Meta4 will lead the concert audience on a journey through the story of the leading form of chamber music, from Luigi Boccherini to Robert Schumann and the compositions of Kaija Saariaho, in a concert entitled History of the String Quartet in One Evening. The afternoon concert on Saturday, 15 June, at Rymättylä Church, will feature works by Beethoven, Outi Tarkiainen and Joseph Haydn.

On Saturday, 15 June, the Naantali Music Festival will be taking over a new concert venue, the park of the Louhisaari Manor, where the audience can enjoy the first ever opera composed by a Finn, The Little Slave Girl by Bernhard Henrik Crusell, which will celebrating the 200th anniversary of its premiere next year. Not only is this a landmark piece of music, but also an entertaining work that is based on the story of Ali Baba and the 40 thieves. The work will be produced by Opera BOX.

FROM 50S RHYTHM & BLUES TO THE BEST OF MOTOWN

The first evening club of the festival on Friday, 7 June, in Paviljonki at Naantali Spa will present Flok, an a cappella ensemble of six singers that won the Tampere Vocal Music Festival last summer. The concert entitled Flok: Let’s Grow will include both original pieces by the ensemble and new arrangements of familiar long-standing classics.

The popular Dinner Concert on Thursday, 13 June, at Naantalin Kaivohuone will feature gems from 50s jazz and rhythm & blues. Formed in 2013 by talented musicians from bands such as Ricky-Tick Big Band and the Jimi Tenor Band, Screaming Jay & The Bones will be performing in Naantali with guest singer Siiri Nordin, known for her band Killer and the hit song Sydämeni osuman sain. In the following evening on 14 June, the second evening club of the Music Festival invites listeners to Kaivohuone to enjoy the vibes of the legendary record label Motown with singer Johanna Försti, known for her soulful voice.