Christchurch Symphony Orchestra | Whitehead, Kuusisto, Sibelius

Benjamin Northey | Conductor
Andrew Haveron | Soloist

Gillian Whitehead | Retrieving the fragility of peace
Kuusisto | Violin Concerto Op. 28
Sibelius | Symphony No. 2 in D Major Op. 43

Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 was the first work that our Sibelius Academy-trained Chief Conductor Benjamin Northey conducted with CSO – we return to this gem of the repertoire in celebration of Ben’s tenth year at the helm. The Sydney Morning Herald reviewed one of his recent interpretations of the work with “it was one of those performances where everything comes together magnificently to create a halcyon moment of surprised delight.”

We pair Sibelius with another Finnish composer who local audiences will be thrilled to discover: Jaakko Kuusisto. The talents of British violinist Andrew Haveron will bring this virtuosic work off the page – as Concertmaster of the Sydney Symphony, and former Concertmaster of the BBC Symphony and first violinist of the Brodsky Quartet, he is an artist not to be missed.

The concert opens with a work written around the same time as Kuusisto’s concerto but on our shores: Dame Gillian Whitehead’s Retrieving the fragility of peace is dedicated to Lyell Cresswell, who passed away while she was writing the work, and she says “I think it may reflect something of the times we’re living in, but words can’t express as music does.”