Philharmonia: Korea tour with Santtu and Clara-Jumi Kang

Programme

We embark on a week-long tour across Korea with Santtu and Korean-German violinist, Clara-Jumi Kang.

Tickets are still available for our concert at the Seoul Arts Center on Sunday 7 December. Enjoy a programme featuring music by Santtu’s compatriot Sibelius, plus Stravinsky’s everlastingly popular Firebird Suite.

Sibelius’s En Saga draws listeners into a mysterious Nordic world of shifting moods and shadowy colours. Its sweeping themes and rugged musical terrain evoke ancient folklore and the wild, wide-open landscapes of Finland.

Then comes Sibelius’s Violin Concerto. Sibelius once hoped to become a professional violinist. He poured all his love and understanding of the instrument into his only concerto, by turns hauntingly beautiful and devilishly virtuosic.

Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite completes the programme. The Firebird is based on stories from Russian folklore, with a colourful cast including a huntsman prince, a magical bird, an evil monster and thirteen enchanted princesses. It’s the perfect showcase for Stravinsky’s masterful orchestration skills and harmonic and rhythmic originality. “Mark him well,” said Diaghilev when he first worked with the young Stravinsky, “he is a man on the eve of celebrity.”