Hannu Lintu returns to the US to conduct in St Louis, Baltimore and Detroit

Hannu Lintu travels to the United States for intense period of performances with St. Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony and Detroit Symphony orchestras (14-30 October). Finnish conductor dedicates Baltimore performances of Cantus Arcticus to memory of Einojuhani Rautavaara

"[Lintu] conducted with such an impassioned and longsighted grasp of the work's momentum - its majesty, the shaping of its organic life from start to finish - that one's concentration didn't flag for a split second... A revelatory evening... of fierce energies and hallowed spaces," The Times, October 2013

Hannu Lintu, in high demand worldwide as a guest artist, returns to the United States in October to work with St. Louis Symphony, Baltimore Symphony and Detroit Symphony orchestras. The Finnish conductor will perform scores by, among others, Beethoven, Dvorák, Lutoslawski, Rautavaara and Sibelius as part of an itinerary comprising eight concerts within little more than a fortnight's span. He is set to return to North America later this season for two performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (22 & 23 March 2017), which includes Magnus Lindberg's Accused for soprano and orchestra and compositions by Beethoven and Sibelius.

"I have the freedom as Chief Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra to be adventurous with repertoire," notes Lintu. "I have worked with the St. Louis Symphony many times and also performed with the Baltimore and Detroit orchestras before. It is very encouraging that audiences in the United States have come to know me and are ready to explore pieces that will be new to them or that they might not know well. I am looking forward to bringing out the different connections in each of the programmes that I will be conducting in St Louis, Baltimore and Detroit in October and again in Toronto next March."

Lintu launches his run of North American concerts on Friday 14 October with the St Louis Symphony at Powell Hall, St. Louis. Their programme opens with Witold Lutoslawski's Chain 3, a compelling example of the Polish composer's so-called 'chain' technique, in which melodic fragments overlap and interlink. Dvorák's Cello Concerto follows, with Alban Gerhardt making his orchestra debut as soloist, before the concert closes with Stravinsky's Petrushka in its revised 1947 version. The programme will be repeated on 15 & 16 October.

From St. Louis, Lintu travels east for three dates with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He marks his return to the orchestra with Einojuhani Rautavaara's Cantus Arcticus for orchestra and tape, a meditative amalgamation of shifting instrumental textures and birdsong sounds recorded near the Arctic Circle and in the peat bogs of northern Finland. Angela Hewitt joins the orchestra as soloist in Beethoven's Piano Concerto No.1 in C major, before a second-half exploration of Dvorák's Symphony No.8 in G major. The programme can be heard at Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall on Friday 21 & Sunday 23 October and at The Music Center at Strathmore in North Bethesda on Saturday 22 October.

"Cantus Arcticus is one of the first pieces I played as an orchestral cellist when I was a boy," the conductor recalls. "It left a lasting impression and means a lot to me. And it speaks to musicians and audiences around the world. Einojuhani was the godfather for Finnish musicians and such an intelligent and warm-hearted person. We could always visit him in Helsinki to discuss his music and ideas. I am sure we will dedicate our performances in Baltimore to the memory of Rautavaara, who died at the end of July." Lintu looks forward to the continuation in Baltimore of his close artistic partnership with Angela Hewitt, with whom he is recording the complete cycle of Mozart's piano concertos for Hyperion.

Hannu Lintu's US itinerary concludes with two concerts at Detroit Orchestra Hall with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on Thursday 29 & Friday 30 October. Stravinsky's Divertimento from The Fairy's Kiss provides the high-energy opening to a programme complete with Jaakko Kuusisto's Violin Concerto, with Elina Vähälä as soloist, and Sibelius' Symphony No.2. "It was very courageous of the orchestra to take Jaakko's Violin Concerto," the conductor comments. "I think it will be a huge success for the soloist and for the Detroit Symphony."

Hannu Lintu is clearly inspired by working with North American orchestras and by the dedication of their musicians. "It's always a great pleasure because things flow so well there," he observes. "The players want to work, and are so well prepared and motivated. Things happen fast, because people are willing to explore new ideas from the first minute of rehearsal. We Europeans always think that orchestras somehow belong to us, but there is a very long symphonic tradition in America. The orchestras I am going to in October are three of my favourites in the United States, each with its own identity and sound, each with its own sense of pride in its artistry. That is very exciting for me."

http://www.hannulintu.fi/

Friday 14 & Saturday 15 October 2016, 8pm, Sunday 16 October, 3pm
Powell Hall, St Louis
Hannu Lintu conductor | Alban Gerhardt cello | St Louis Symphony
Lutoslawski Chain III
Dvorák Concerto for Cello in B minor, Op.104
Stravinsky Petrushka ballet (1947 version)

Friday 21 October 2016, 8pm, Sunday 23 October 2016, 3pm
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Baltimore
Saturday 22 October 2016 The Music Center at Strathmore, 8pm
Hannu Lintu conductor | Angela Hewitt piano | Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Rautavaara Cantus Arcticus
Beethoven Concerto for Piano No. 1 in C major, op. 15
Dvorák Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op.88

Saturday 29 October, 8pm, Sunday 30 October 3pm
Orchestra Hall, Detroit
Hannu Lintu conductor | Elina Vähälä violin | Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Stravinsky Divertimento from The Fairy's Kiss
Jaakko Kuusisto Concerto for Violin
Sibelius Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op.43