Marin Alsop conducts depictions of nature

Music, says Outi Tarkiainen, can act like a force of nature. The Finn has made a name for herself internationally at breathtaking speed – also because time and again her music reflects the endangered Arctic nature of her home town of Rovaniemi. Following the world premiere of Tarkiainen’s new commission for the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the programme takes us to the Australian continent with Brett Dean’s Fire Music, which was named the best orchestral work of the year at the 2013 Australian ART Music Awards. The former member of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s viola section has created a skilfully orchestrated piece full of emotional power. Its inspiration came from the devastating bushfires in the Melbourne area in February 2009, Australia's largest fire disaster to date.

Aaron Copland’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Appalachian Spring was composed during the Second World War and pays homage to the pioneering spirit and simple country life in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania in the early 19th century. His music is strikingly pictorial, although it quotes only one genuine folk song, namely the Quaker song Simple gifts, which became one of the most popular melodies in the USA. The evening concludes with Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Chôros No. 10, probably his most successful orchestral work, which takes us into the depths of the Brazilian jungle with all kinds of flute song.

Berliner Philharmoniker

Marin Alsop

Rundfunkchor Berlin