With the symphonic suite Kullervo, Jean Sibelius achieved his great breakthrough as a composer. He drew inspiration from the Finnish national epic Kalevala and ancient songs from Karelia. The evening is graced by the magnificent male voice choir Orphei Drängar, and Santtu-Matias Rouvali guides Sibelius’s epic tale with an expert hand.
The suite about the life and death of the tragic figure Kullervo is a rough diamond in Sibelius’s vast output. It was enthusiastically received, but Sibelius withdrew it, considering the work musically immature. Not until after his death in 1957 was it performed again.
The venerable male voice choir Orphei Drängar from Uppsala is an experience to hear, with its 80 members. The popular conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, for many years chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, is finally back in Gothenburg with his superb approach to Sibelius’s music. Together with the orchestra, he has been acclaimed for their recordings of Sibelius’s seven symphonies.
