Bo Carpelan 100: Carte blanche
The playful philosopher – classics from Bach to Haydn
Mozart – J.S. Bach – Sibelius – Haydn
Antti Tikkanen, violin and leader
Finnish Baroque Orchestra
Irma Niskanen, programme planning
The different arts are inextricably, albeit concealedly, linked channels for exploring reality. For Bo Carpelan (1926–2011), a prominent figure in Finnish literature, music was a beloved hobby. Now, in honour of the 100th anniversary of the author's birth, FiBO and the author's descendants have planned a program that Carpelan would have wanted to hear. FiBO's artistic director from 2014 to 2017, violinist Antti Tikkanen, is the leader and soloist of the concert.
The concert continues FiBO's period instrument performances of works by Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) with his later suite for violin and string orchestra (op. 117, 1929). The work was written for the North American market in a Neo-classical style, detached from late Romanticism and Expressionism, but the composer eventually forbade its publication.
Axel Carpelan (1858–1919) was a friend, supporter and interlocutor of Sibelius. Bo Carpelan's bestselling novel Axel (1986) explores the inner world of Axel, the author’s grandfather’s brother, as well as his social isolation and his relationship to the glorified Sibelius. The pages of the book are full of music. “The more you listen to Mozart, the more you appreciate Haydn”, Bo Carpelan is said to have told Claes Andersson – a jazz musician, psychiatrist, author and politician. FiBO performs symphonies from the year 1764 by Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791).
Mozart's Symphony No 1, written in London by the then eight-year-old composer, is impeccable but still childish. In Haydn's Symphony No 22 (nicknamed The Philosopher), two English horns are used instead of oboes. At the beginning of the work, we reflect in the soundscape of English horns, French horns and muted strings as the texture inherited from the Baroque is simplified to the extreme.
The programme is complemented by Johann Sebastian Bach's (1685–1750) violin concerto in A minor (BWV 1041). It handles the conventions of the ritornello form with sophistication. The concerto might date from the composer's Köthen years, but it could also have been performed at the orchestra concerts at Café Zimmermann in Leipzig. Cafés were the focal points of culture, politics and the changing society.
Duration: 1 h 45 min (incl. intermission)
There's a pre-concert talk at the House of Nobility from 5 pm to 5.30 pm. Some descendants of Bo Carpelan will be present.
Tickets 15/29/37/52 € (price according to the seat) including handling costs + 1,5 € delivery fee per order: Ticketmaster's points of purchase and ticketmaster.fi
Student tickets at the door 10 € (if tickets are still available)
Series tickets for the residency series of the House of Nobility 74/94 € (price according to seat) including handling costs + 1,5 € delivery fee per order: Ticketmaster's points of purchase and ticketmaster.fi. Series tickets can be purchased until the series' first concert September 17). Note! When you buy online, the system offers its best seat. If you want to choose a specific seat, it is possible at Ticketmaster's points of purchase.
Group offers and ticket inquieries: lippu@fibo.fi
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The House of Nobility is not fully accessible. There are steps at the entrance, and access from the lobby to the assembly hall, which serves as a concert venue on the second floor, is via stairs.
The accessible entrance is located at Hallituskatu 2 B. The doorman will open the door upon request. Please call him when you are at the door at +358 50 395 2349.
An accessible restroom is available on the second floor, next to the concert café area.