‘Belgian National Orchestra, Schønwandt & Waarts’

Obsessed with Finnish sagas, lakes and forests, Sibelius's Violin Concerto combines a late-Romantic style with a modern Nordic sound aesthetic. The American-Dutch violinist Stephen Waarts, who was laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2015, is the dream soloist for Sibelius’s most famous work. Associate conductor Michael Schønwandt has long been an ambassador for Danish composer Carl Nielsen. In this concert with the Belgian National Orchestra, he performs Nielsen's Third Symphony, the work that gave him his national and international breakthrough in 1912. The second movement of this symphony, with wordless solos for soprano and baritone, captures the peaceful, heavenly mood of nature before the Fall.

Before the concert, associate conductor Michael Schønwandt will give a multilingual introduction from 19:00 to 19:30 in the Henry Le Bœuf Hall. Admission is free on presentation of a concert ticket.