The Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra welcomes Sámi singer Katarina Barruk in a concert about the power of language. With incredible stage presence, she combines folk tunes and pop in symphonic dress. A collaboration that also takes them to the BBC Proms this year.
Pekka Kuusisto also leads the orchestra in Sibelius’ versatile Symphony No. 5.
When Sibelius completed his Fifth Symphony, with enormous anguish, the world was changing. World War I was raging, cities were growing quickly and this new modernism required more of an artist than just lyrics. In the symphony, we hear a composer attempting to build a new form of expression, a synthesis of the traditional, rural way of life and the pulse of the city. “I hear a suggestion of a child learning a language at the very beginning of the symphony, folk dances in the middle movement, a relentless accelerando of a very big machine spinning out of control at the end of the first movement.” , says conductor Pekka Kuusisto.
Language and expression are also in focus for singer and songwriter Katarina Barruk. With incredible stage presence, she sings in her native Ume Sámi, a language that she is fighting to preserve. Together with Principal Guest Conductor Pekka Kuusisto this evening, she creates a blend of folk tunes and pop in symphonic dress. In the second act, her songs are interwoven with heartfelt masterpieces for strings. Where words cease, the music expands.
