Jean Sibelius - Concerto in D minor, Op. 47; The symphonic poemLemminkäinen's Return from the suite Op. 22.

Premiere album, released on April 24^th

As principal conductor of the GothenburgSymphony Orchestra, Santtu Matias Rouvali spent five years recording Jean Sibelius's symphonies and symphonic poems for the Alpha Classics label, rewarded numerous international awards. The Finnish Conductor wished to continue this series with an album featuring the set of four symphonic poems, Op. 22 and the famous Violin Concerto composed by Jean Sibelius in 1904. For this recording, the conductor chose Ava Bahari as the soloist - a young Swedish violinist whose career is rapidly flourishing and who is serving as artist-in-residence with Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra during the current season.

The 29-year-old violinist has won prizes at the Paganini Competition in Genoa, the Tibor Varga Competition in Sion, and the Aurora Competition in Stockholm. She has an extensive concert career, performing on major stages, and regularly collaborates with Romanian pianist Andrei Baciu in the chamber music repertoire. Playing a Stradivarius violin, the musician impresses with her sensitive and profound interpretation, producing a rich, refined tone and demonstrating flawless technique in Jean Sibelius's only concerto.

The disc also includes the Four Legends from Kalevala, Op. 22, a set of symphonic poems composed by the Finnish composer in 1896 and subsequently revised twice. These orchestral pieces follow a narrative thread, depicting the actions of the epic heroic character Lemminkäinen from the Kalevala - a Finnish national collection of folk and mythological poetry. The work is distinguished by vigorous, asymmetrical rhythms, lush orchestration, and complex dynamic layers - qualities brought to the fore in the admirable performance by the GothenburgSymphony Orchestra conducted by Santtu Matias Rouvali.