The Romantic Symphony

Monumental in size and profound in content, Anton Bruckner's symphonies have been called cathedrals in sound. Struggling to establish himself as a composer, Bruckner spent most of his life working primarily as an organist and music theory teacher. He was a devout Catholic and composed a significant amount of religious music. Bruckner's Fourth Symphony was in development for a long time and he extensively revised much of it before its premiere in 1881 to great acclaim. He subtitled the symphony "The Romantic," which can be interpreted as a tribute to German Romantic composers, but the work possesses echoes ranging from Weber and Schumann to Wagner.

Katie Buckley has been the principal harpist of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra since 2006, as well as contributing greatly to the new music scene in Iceland through chamber music and various creative projects. Katie describes her initial encounter with Lotta Wennäkoski‘s concerto like this: "I was completely enchanted by the use of extended techniques that I heard and sounded so natural as part of the harp's inherent colors."

Lotta Wennäkoski is one of Finland's most exciting new composers. She has written orchestral works, operas, chamber music and vocal works and her music is regularly performed worldwide. The composition "Sigla" was premiered and recorded in 2022 by the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, with the recording winning a Gramophone magazine award in the contemporary music category the following year.

The concert begins with the playful overture to The Abduction from the Seraglio by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.