Eva Conducts the Firebird

The season opener features Eva Ollikainen conducting Igor Stravinsky's spellbinding music to the ballet The Firebird, the masterpiece that made the 27-year-old Stravinsky world-famous overnight after its Paris premiere in 1910. The piece is based on a Russian folk tale about a prince who rescues a princess from the jaws of a terrible monster with the assistance of a mysterious and beguiling creature, the firebird, from which the ballet draws its name. Setting the stage for Stravinsky's fairy tale is another little tale, Märchenpoem – the so-called Fairytale Poem – by Sofia Gubaidulina, an enchanting little musical contemplation on art and beauty.

The soloist for the evening is the young Norwegian cello star Amalie Stalheim, who has received numerous awards for her playing and is swiftly conquering the music world. She takes to the stage with contemporary Swedish composer Anders Hillborg's magical Cello Concerto, which marries a delicate lyricism with deep, melodious passion.

The concert opens with the Icelandic premiere of a new work by Daníel Bjarnason, the first of an orchestral trilogy commissioned by the Toronto Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Iceland Symphony Orchestra. The trio of works, inspired by artificial intelligence, revolves around questions about the nature of life and consciousness. It bears the title I Want to Be Alive. The first segment of the three, Echo / Narcissus, draws its name from Greek mythology.