Minnesota Orchestra concert with Osmo Vänskä and violinist Stella Chen, closing the Nordic Soundscapes Festival with works by Kuusisto and Nielsen.
Osmo Vänskä returns to Orchestra Hall on Friday, November 13, at 8 PM, with violinist Stella Chen by his side. It's the closing night of the third annual Nordic Soundscapes Festival, which runs from November 5 to 14 and draws on the Nordic tradition of hygge—warmth, togetherness, and shared cultural experiences—just as Minnesota settles into winter.
The program brings together Finland and Denmark. It opens with Outi Tarkiainen's Songs of the Ice, followed by Jaakko Kuusisto's Violin Concerto, the only one he ever wrote, composed after a commission from fellow Finnish violinist Elina Vähälä. The second half is Carl Nielsen's Symphony No. 6, Sinfonia semplice, Nielsen's final symphony. He originally thought it would be "completely idyllic," though he later doubted the name still fit.
Stella Chen takes the solo part on the Kuusisto concerto. She won the 2019 Queen Elizabeth International Violin Competition and was named Gramophone Young Artist of the Year in 2023. Vänskä is a familiar face here: his 19-year tenure as the Orchestra's music director ended in 2022, and he took home a Grammy for Best Classical Album in 2018. This festival pairs him with Music Director Thomas Søndergård, so it's one of the few times you'll hear the Orchestra led by both.
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If you want to make a whole evening of it, the lobby activities run 90 minutes before each performance, with Finnish folk music by Lauluaika and Finnish rag rug weaving demonstrations. Tickets range from $15 to $114, and the concert runs Friday, November 13, at 8 PM and Saturday, November 14, at 7 PM at Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall.
