Romance

ROMANCE CONCERT SERIES
Gems of the Romantic era

Ahead of their December tour to Austria, ERSO presents its repertoire to the home audience. The programme features two cornerstones of Romantic music: Edward Elgar’s lyrical Cello Concerto and Antonín Dvořák’s powerful New World Symphony. The evening opens with an energetic spark – Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Tormiloits (Incantation of the Tempest), a work dedicated to Veljo Tormis. The orchestra is led by Chief Conductor Olari Elts, with the world-renowned Hungarian cellist István Várdai as soloist for the Elgar concerto.

In January, ERSO welcomes the distinguished conductor Andrew Manze, celebrated for his expertise in both early and Romantic music. The concert opens with the atmospheric tone poem Serenade to Music by British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The evening features the Estonian premiere of Symphony No. 8 by London-based Estonian composer Mihkel Kerem – a work Manze has previously recorded with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. The second half offers Johannes Brahms’ pastorally idyllic Second Symphony, filled with charming folk-like melodies and dance motifs.

The April concert focuses on Romanticism and symphonic sea-poetry. The soloist for Frédéric Chopin’s popular Piano Concerto No. 1 is Havryil Sydoryk, winner of last year’s “Classical Stars” competition. Despite being a teenager, the virtuoso is already an experienced performer. Dutch conductor Bas Wiegers leads the second half with impressionistic maritime works: Jean Sibelius’ mythological poem The Oceanides and Claude Debussy’s exquisite tonal portrait La Mer. The concert opens with a new work by the young composer Madli Marje Gildemann.

The season’s final chords are traditionally struck by ERSO’s Honorary Principal Conductor Neeme Järvi, who brings a bright selection of spring classics to the stage this May. Joining the maestro by special invitation is the charming pianist Anna Shelest, who will perform as a soloist in three works: Rudolf Tobias’s Piano Concerto and Eduard Tubin’s Concertino from the treasury of Estonian classics, as well as Richard Strauss’s youthfully bravura Burleske. From the works of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Neeme Järvi has selected the popular and romantic suite Mozartiana.