Behind the scenes: Nordic Soundscapes filming
By Marina Vidor, Senior Producer
As a video producer at the Philharmonia Orchestra, I have been lucky to work on film projects in Europe, Asia and the USA, meeting great artists and telling stories about music, musicians and the context of music making. One place that I have been privileged to visit a number of times for work is Finland, thanks to the orchestra’s long relationship with conductors Esa-Pekka Salonen and Santtu-Mattias Rouvali, collaborations with the Sibelius 150 and Finland 100 celebrations, and several projects with violinst Pekka Kuusisto. It’s a fascinating place and one that rewards continued exploration.
Just some of the stunning scenery we captured.
Finland is home to three conductors in our Nordic Soundscapes series, which opens our 2024/25 concert season on 26 September. It’s a classical music powerhouse of a nation, with a strong network of regional orchestras and an uncanny ability to produce top conductors and cultivate audiences with an appetite for the new. It was only natural to plan a filming trip there to produce content for the Philharmonia’s series, running until 10 November, which features music from Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland.
In Finland, time off, especially in the summer, is taken very seriously. People often retreat to nature for some quiet time. Silence is highly valued. Luckily, all three conductors were home this August, and happy to spend some of their precious holiday time chatting to us. We went with Principal Conductor Santtu-Mattias Rouvali on his fishing boat and ate a superb meal all sourced from his woods and the fish he caught; we discovered Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen’s favourite spot on the water to sit and think; and we ate tomatoes from Emilia Hoving’s balcony.
Out on a fishing trip with Santtu-Matias Rouvali (top right).
Santtu-Matias Rouvali preparing fish he caught earlier in the day.
We also grabbed an interview with Lapland-based composer Outi Tarkiainen who happened to be finishing up her time at Meidän Festival/Our Festival outside of Helsinki. We picked apples and berries and chatted about how nature inspires her work before escaping a torrential summer downpour.
A walk in the woods with Conductor Laureate Esa-Pekka Salonen
Picking berries with Outi Tarkiainen
Summer’s bounty of berries and apples, lush greenery, tall trees, and riots of late summer flowers all shine through in the video material we captured. Light sparkles on water. Thousands of miles of coastline and thousands of islands and lakes mean water is everywhere in Finland.
And it’s an environment that composers in the region cannot ignore. It can be dangerous and gentle at the same time, and is undergoing rapid change due to the climate crisis. Editorial consultant and journalist Andrew Mellor, an expert in Nordic music and author of The Nordic Silence – Journeys in Nordic Music and Culture, introduced us to these themes in a short documentary we also shot on location in Helsinki. We even popped into Marimekko, the iconic clothing and textile design company, to discover how natural patterns appear everywhere in Finland, from the sides of trains to Sibelius’s symphonies.
A happy team – Andrew Mellor, myself and
To wrap up our amazing trip, we caught up with the Philharmonia at the Mikkeli Festival in central Finland. In collaboration with the festival and the local tourism boards, we have put together a special musical treat to close out the series.
We can’t wait to share these new films with you on our YouTube channel. We want to share something different with you – not only a small slice of Finnish summer in all of its glory, but fresh insight and unique content that we hope will enhance your concert experience.
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