ESTViolin Concerto
This December, ERSO prepares to embark on a concert tour of Southern Europe to mark the Orchestra’s 99th birthday. Before the tour, a celebratory concert will take place in Tallinn, opening with Arvo Pärt’s timeless Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten. The spotlight of the evening will be on the music of Jean Sibelius. Renowned Dutch violinist Simone Lamsma will perform the composer’s Violin Concerto—a cornerstone of the violin repertoire known for its emotional depth and technical brilliance. The program concludes with Sibelius’s Symphony No. 2, composed in the Italian town of Rapallo. The influence of southern Italian light and landscape is unmistakably woven into the fabric of this majestic symphonic work.
In February, French conductor Pierre Bleuse returns to eRSO after his successful debut in 2024. Appropriately, the evening will feature a program rich in French music. It begins with Maurice Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin, an orchestral adaptation of his piano suite, structured in the style of a Baroque dance suite. The program continues with Igor Stravinsky’s Violin Concerto in D, performed by the expressive and accomplished Liya Petrova. Emmanuel Chabrier’s lively rhapsody España, his most beloved orchestral piece, will also be featured. The evening closes with Claude Debussy’s Jeux (The Games), a poetic and impressionistic ballet score that premiered in 1913.
At the end of March, violinist Viviane Hagner returns to perform with ERSO. The centerpiece of the evening is the Violin Concerto No. 1 by Unsuk Chin—one of the most performed living composers today. Though classical in structure, the concerto is known for its exceptionally demanding solo part, offering both technical and interpretive challenges. The concert opens with a new work by Estonian composer Maria Kõrvits, commissioned especially by ERSO. The second half of the evening takes listeners on a journey through Italy. Under the baton of Olari Elts, the orchestra will perform Franz Schubert’s Overture in the Italian Style, inspired by Italian opera, followed by Felix Mendelssohn’s vibrant Symphony No. 4 Italian, a musical reflection of the composer’s travels through Italy.
In April, Estonia will host the International Artist Managers’ Association (IAMA) Conference, a major event in the classical music world. To mark the occasion, Chief Conductor Olari Elts has curated a concert programme spotlighting Estonian music and talent. Rising star Hans Christian Aavik will perform Erkki-Sven Tüür’s Violin Concerto No. 2, titled Angel’s Share. According to the composer, the title symbolizes the shedding of all that is unnecessary as one grows and matures. The concert will conclude with Symphony No. 2 by Lepo Sumera—one of Estonia’s most significant symphonic voices. This concert will not contain an intermission.