- PVS Classical Series program includes Schumann’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major
- April 2 concert will be webcast for free at dso.org and on Facebook as part of DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series
Detroit, (March 24, 2022) – The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will welcome Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste to Orchestra Hall on April 1-3 for three concerts on the PVS Classical Series. Saraste will be joined by violinist Isabelle Faust, who is featured soloist in Robert Schumann’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor. The program also includes Jean Sibelius’s Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, commissioned in 1915 from the Finnish government in honor of the composer’s 50th birthday—a national holiday in Finland..
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Schumann & Sibelius will take place Friday, April 1 at 8 p.m., Saturday, April 2 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, April 3 at 3 p.m. at Orchestra Hall.
The April 2 performance will also be webcast for free at dso.org and via Facebook Live as part of the DSO’s Live from Orchestra Hall series.
Tickets for these performances start at $15 and can be purchased at dso.org or by calling the Box Office at 313.576.5111, open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The title sponsor of the DSO’s Classical Series is PVS Chemicals, Inc. DSO Live is presented by Ford Motor Company Fund and made possible by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Digital programming is produced from the Al Glancy Control Room. The William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series is made possible by a generous grant from the William Davidson Foundation. WRCJ 90.9 FM also supports the series.
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PVS Classical Series
Friday, April 1 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, April 2 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, April 3 at 3 p.m.
Orchestra Hall
Jukka-Pekka Saraste, conductor
Isabelle Faust, violin
The strength of the Finnish spirit is alive in a program led by Jukka-Pekka Saraste, including Sibelius's Fifth Symphony, commissioned by the government of Finland for the composer's 50th birthday. Sibelius's Fifth is perhaps best known for its "swan call" motif, influencing musicians from Leonard Bernstein to John Coltrane and songs on the Billboard charts.
ROBERT SCHUMANN Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor
JEAN SIBELIUS Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82
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About Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Jukka-Pekka Saraste has established himself as one of the outstanding conductors of his generation, demonstrating remarkable musical depth and integrity. Born in Heinola, Finland, he began his career as a violinist before training as a conductor with Jorma Panula at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He maintains a strong connection to the works of Beethoven, Bruckner, Shostakovich, Stravinsky, and Sibelius and is internationally celebrated for his interpretations of Mahler.
From 2010 to 2019, Saraste served as Chief Conductor of the WDR Sinfonieorchester in Cologne. During his tenure, the orchestra built a reputation both at home and abroad, touring Austria, Spain, the Baltics, and Asia. The symphonic cycles of Sibelius, Brahms, and Beethoven were exceptionally well received. Previously, from 2006 to 2013, Saraste was Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. He was subsequently appointed Conductor Laureate, the very first such title bestowed by the orchestra. Earlier positions include the principal conductorships of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he is now Conductor Laureate. He also served as Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Advisor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. He founded the Finnish Chamber Orchestra where he remains the Artistic Advisor. Most recently, Saraste is a founding member of the LEAD! Foundation, a mentorship program for young conductors and soloists. Based in Finland, the foundation has run projects in Stockholm, Lausanne, Dortmund, and Sofia. In 2020, it also created the Fiskars Summer Festival, an international platform for both Finnish and international artists to pass on their knowledge and experience to the next generation of conductors from all around the world. The second edition of the festival took place in the summer of 2021.
Saraste’s guest engagements have led him to the major orchestras worldwide, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Munich Philharmonic, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Concertgebouworkest, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and the leading Scandinavian orchestras. In North America, he has conducted The Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, New York Philharmonic, and Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.
In recent years, Saraste has developed a strong profile in operatic repertoire. Following concert performances of Stravinsky’s Oedipus rex, Schönberg’s Erwartung, and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle, Saraste conducted a new scenic production of Mendelssohn’s Elijah directed by Calixto Bieito in Vienna and Korngold’s Die tote Stadt at the Finnish National Opera. In the 2020-2021 season, he conducted a new production of Reimann’s Lear at the Bayerische Staatsoper.
Saraste’s extensive discography includes the complete symphonies of Sibelius and Nielsen with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and several well-received recordings with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra of works by Bartók, Dutilleux, Mussorgsky, and Prokofiev for Warner Finlandia. His CDs with the WDR Sinfonieorchester for Hänssler have earned him critical acclaim including Schönberg’s Pelleas and Melisande, Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol, Brahms’s complete symphonies, as well as Mahler’s 5th and 9th symphonies and Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8. The complete cycle of Beethoven’s symphonies, released in 2019 to high critical acclaim, can be regarded as a legacy of his tenure in Cologne.
Saraste has received the Pro Finlandia Prize, the Sibelius Medal, and the Finnish State Prize for Music. He was awarded honorary doctorates from York University, Toronto and Sibelius Academy, Helsinki.
About Isabelle Faust
Isabelle Faust captivates her listeners with insightful and faithful interpretations, based on a thorough knowledge of the historical context of the works, as well as her attention to current scholarship.
At an early age, Faust won the prestigious Leopold Mozart and Paganini competitions and was soon invited to appear with the world’s leading orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. This led to close and sustained cooperation with conductors including Claudio Abbado, Giovanni Antonini, Frans Brüggen, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Bernard Haitink, Daniel Harding, Philippe Herreweghe, Andris Nelsons, and Robin Ticciati.
Faust’s vast artistic curiosity encompasses all eras and forms of instrumental collaboration, performing a wide-ranging repertoire from J.S. Bach to contemporary composers such as Ligeti, Lachenmann, and Widmann. To highlight this versatility, in addition to her mastery of the great symphonic violin concertos, she also performs works such as Kurtág’s “Kafka Fragments” with soprano Anna Prohaska, Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du soldat, or Schubert’s octet on historical instruments. She will premiere several new works for violin and orchestra in the coming seasons, including concertos by composers Péter Eötvös, Brett Dean, Ondřej Adámek, and Oscar Strasnoy.
A prolific recording artist, Faust has a large discography. Her critically acclaimed recordings have received a Gramophone Classical Music Award, the Diapason d’or, the Choc de l’année, and other prizes. Her most recent recordings include Bach’s violin concertos with the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and Mendelssohn’s violin concerto with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado. Her album of Bach’s harpsichord sonatas with Kristian Bezuidenhout was released in March 2018. Other notable recordings include Bach’s sonatas and partitas, and Beethoven’s and Berg’s violin concertos with Claudio Abbado and the Orchestra Mozart. Faust shares a longstanding recital partnership with pianist Alexander Melnikov, with whom she has recorded many discs for harmonia mundi including sonatas for violin and piano by Mozart, Beethoven, and Brahms, among other chamber recordings.
About the DSO
The most accessible orchestra on the planet, the acclaimed Detroit Symphony Orchestra is known for trailblazing performances, collaborations with the world’s foremost musical artists, and a deep connection to its city. As a community-supported orchestra, generous giving by individuals and institutions at all levels drives the continued success and growth of the organization. In January 2020, Italian conductor Jader Bignamini was named the DSO’s next music director to commence with the 2020-2021 season. Celebrated conductor, arranger, and trumpeter Jeff Tyzik is the orchestra’s Principal Pops Conductor, while Oscar-nominated trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard holds the Fred A. Erb Jazz Creative Director Chair.
Making its home at historic Orchestra Hall within the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, the DSO offers a performance schedule that features PVS Classical, PNC Pops, Paradise Jazz, and Young People’s Family Concert series. One of the world’s most acoustically perfect concert halls, Orchestra Hall celebrated its centennial in 2019-2020. In addition, the DSO presents the William Davidson Neighborhood Concert Series in seven metro area venues, as well as a robust schedule of eclectic multi-genre performances in its mid-size venue The Cube, constructed and curated with support from Peter D. & Julie F. Cummings.
A dedication to broadcast innovation began in 1922, when the DSO became the first orchestra in the world to present a live radio broadcast of a concert and continues today with the groundbreaking Live from Orchestra Hall series of free webcasts, which also reaches tens of thousands of children with the Classroom Edition expansion. With growing attendance and unwavering philanthropic support from the people of Detroit, the DSO actively pursues a mission to embrace and inspire individuals, families, and communities through unsurpassed musical experiences.