Rochester and back to Finland

There was a second week in the US. After the warm and sunny Atlanta I spent a musically rewarding week in more Scandinavian climate with the Rochester Philharmonic. Rochester is a city with an interesting history linked closely to the Eastman Kodak Company. The Kodak Concert Hall dates from early 1920´s and is both huge and acustically excellent. The Eastman School of Music is one of the most prestigious music institutes in America and the Philharmonic are working closely with the students of the school. As most of the Northern American cities Rochester is in the middle of a change in the economical infrastructure. I had an opportunity to meet the most enthusiastic donors and members of the board and got the impression that there is a bright future for the orchestra.

The Rochester Phil is a modern ensemble with lots of energy and will. I had a chance to spend some time with these people and was impressed on how much they care about their orchestra and the audience. In the concert "Cantus Arcticus" by Einojuhani Rautavaara found a new home in the spacious acoustics of the Kodak Hall. That piece never fails to move the public. We played also Shostakovich 1st Symphony. I´ve conducted this piece a lot during the last 12 months and think it´s time to let it rest for a while now and take a closer look at his other symphonies. The 11th comes with the Indianapolis Symphony in March 2010 and I´m seriously planning to program 2nd, 3rd and 4th in Tampere.

Augustin Hadelich played a convincing and moving version of the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. I´ve known about Augustin for a long time but this was the first time we played together. There is something very special in his musicianship and I´m glad we have plans for the future.

I´ve been back to Finland for six days now and I´m still in the middle of an excruciating jet lag. The seven hour time zone difference is the worst. Combining that with the Piano Concerto and Capriccio by Stravinsky can be dangerous. This week we had Alexander Toradze playing those pieces in Tampere. I always learn a lot when playing with him and also this time was quite fenomenal. Stravinsky´s neoclassical works are usually played without warmth and soul. But not this time. There is so much beauty and deepness of thought behind that graphic background and Alexander Toradze showed us how to make all that audible. I´m deeply grateful for that.