Sibelius' own orchestra brings its home repertoire to Seoul

The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, which gave the first performances of nearly all of Jean Sibelius' symphonies, will make its Seoul debut at Lotte Concert Hall on Thursday. The concert closes the orchestra's first Korean tour, which began in Daegu on Tuesday and stopped in Daejeon on Wednesday.

Chief conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste, a 70-year-old Finn who began his career as a violinist, will lead selections from Sibelius' "Pelleas et Melisande" and the composer's Symphony No. 2. Korean violinist Yang In-mo will be the soloist in Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2.

"In Finland, maybe because of Sibelius, the orchestra music has been a very important part of Finnish identity," Saraste said in a written interview with local media outlets.

Sibelius wrote much of his best-known music while Finland was under Russian rule, and works such as "Finlandia" became symbols of the country's push for independence, which it won in 1917. The Helsinki Philharmonic, which premiered six of his seven symphonies, has been tied to that legacy ever since.

Saraste said Finnish music reflects the Finnish temperament. "Finns are not extroverted, but they are not introverted," he said. "They have a lot of inner feelings, but they do not exaggerate."

Saraste called the pairing of Sibelius and Prokofiev "quite natural," noting that Russian influences can be heard in Sibelius' music.

From "Pelleas et Melisande," he chose four movements, Nos. 1, 2, 8 and 9, for their contrasting characters, "actually making it like a mini symphony." The suite shows Sibelius' versatility, he said, and makes a good contrast to the Second Symphony.

Saraste, who became the orchestra's chief conductor in 2023, described its sound as "very broad, deep and expressive." He credited Helsinki's curious audiences with giving the orchestra freedom in its programming.

"We play contemporary music, classical and late romantic, for full audiences," he said. "That has improved the orchestra's capacity enormously."

Yang, who won the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in 2022, has kept close ties with the Finnish music scene since. Saraste called him "a truly interesting player with a very personal sound" and "a perfect choice" for the Prokofiev concerto.

Saraste, who has guest-conducted Korean orchestras several times, said he sees a common thread in the two countries.

"I think something in common between the peoples of Finland and Korea is the genuine interest in orchestral music," he said.