Philzuid presents an ode to Finnish and French composers who are in love with the beauty of nature (in winter).

Special attention is given to the Finnish composer Einojuhani Rautavaara, who passed away ten years ago. Together with Kaija Saariaho, Rautavaara is regarded as the most leading Finnish composer after Sibelius. In his accessible, symphonic works, the prolific composer sought the healing power and all-encompassing energy of nature. Within his extensive oeuvre — including eight symphonies and nine operas — Rautavaara, later in life, increasingly found a spiritual connection between the divine and all earthly beauty. With his post-romantic, spiritual style, Rautavaara succeeded in reaching a wide audience.

One of his best-known works is the orchestral piece Cantus Arcticus, in which Rautavaara enhances the splendour of Finnish nature with recordings of birdsong. Rautavaara’s atmospheric Violin Concerto, in turn, is a true tour de force for the solo violinist. The emerging German violin star Tobias Feldmann knows the work inside out.

Was it the love for his mistress that inspired Debussy, or the wide sea view from the hotel room where he stayed with her? Just as Impressionist painters such as Monet captured the shimmering of the water in colour, Debussy painted his masterpiece with the most refined orchestral sounds. In La Mer, you can almost smell the sea. In three symphonic sketches, Debussy depicts changing moods of the water in sound, such as light, movement and turbulence.

• conductor David Reiland violin Tobias Feldmann
• programme Pépin - Les Eaux célestes | Rautavaara - Violin Concerto | Rautavaara - Cantus Arcticus | Debussy - La Mer