Sibelius and Nielsen turn 150

By Michael Church

As fellow Scandinavians, born in the same year, who both gave the symphonic form a hefty shove, Jean Sibelius and Carl Nielsen might be expected to have been bosom pals, but they met only once. This hasn’t deterred Sakari Oramo from scheduling two programmes of these composers’ music in a joint celebration of their 150th birthdays. Sibelius—whose music this Finnish conductor has long championed—is well established in the repertoire, but Oramo feels there’s still a big promotional job to be done on Nielsen’s. “He was often far ahead of his contemporaries, looking forwards not backwards.”

Oramo started out as a fiddler, and still sometimes performs as a soloist. He may be a quiet operator, but he’s hugely effective. After taking over the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from Simon Rattle, he pushed them to dizzy new heights, and it’s largely thanks to his proselytising that Elgar’s music is now household listening. Oramo has fought for music in British schools, and with his wife, the soprano Anu Komsi, has founded an experimental opera festival in northern Finland. Under the catchy title “Close Encounters of the Cultural Kind”, Sibelius and Nielsen are now having their moment, first with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London, then with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic in the spring. ~ Michael Church