Kullervo: The Young Sibelius

With the ambitious large-scale work Kullervo, the young Jean Sibelius truly established himself as Finland's undisputed national composer - now the work can be experienced here at home for the first time in decades. The concert is part of the concert series ROOTS, in which Copenhagen Phil and Thomas Dausgaard follow symphonic music back to its folk-music roots. This time the journey goes to Finland, where primal force, myths, folk song and symphony are closely connected. Jean Sibelius is Finland's undisputed national composer, not least because his music takes its starting point in Finnish mythology. The early work Kullervo (1892) is a meeting of folk music, myths and symphonic form. The large-scale work is based on the national epic Kalevala and tells the story of the tragic hero Kullervo - from youth to war and death. With vocal soloists and a large orchestra, Sibelius creates a raw and primal-symphonic sound world, where heroic outbursts and melancholy go hand in hand. The concert opens with a precursor to Kullervo: a prelude in which Finnish folk music is interwoven with excerpts from Sibelius' work. The arrangement was created by Timo Alakotila in close dialogue with Thomas Dausgaard and is performed by Finnish folk musicians together with Copenhagen Phil. As honorary guest conductor, Thomas Dausgaard has made the ROOTS concerts a forum for curiosity and genre-crossing encounters. With DAUSGAARD ROOTS #3: FINLAND, symphonic music returns to its Finnish roots. Programme: Finnish folk music Sibelius / Kullervo

• Æres-gæstedirigent: Thomas Dausgaard / Solister: Helena Juntunensopran & Jens Søndergaard, baryton / Gruppe: Timo Alakotila, harmonium, Ilona Korhonen, sang, Minna-Liisa Tammela, sang, Tero Pajunen, sang & Anna-Karin Korhonen, kantele