The Program for the 2024 Sounds of Luosto festival, taking place in the beginning of August, has been published. The main concert of the festival on Ukko-Luosto will be performed by the Jyväskylä Sinfonia under the direction of conductor Aku Sorensen.
The four-day festival will take place 1.-4.8 on Luosto, Pyhä, and in Sodankylä. The theme of the 2024 festival is Echoes of history.
The Jyväskylä Sinfonia, which will headline the main concert of the festival, is a well-respected orchestral from Central Finland. In addition to concerts in their home region, the orchestra is a frequent guest at festivals during the summer season. At nearly 70 years of age, this will be the ensemble’s first visit to Lapland.
Their concert will include a performance of the seldom heard Ethyl Smyth Serenade in D major and the epoch-defining Ludwig van Beethoven Symphony no. 3 “Eroica”.
“It is really fantastic that we’ve gotten the Jyväskylä Sinfonia here this year. I have very warm memories of our previous collaborations and I can promise that their concert will be a very high-level and truly joyous celebration of music” says Aku Sorensen, artistic director of the festival.
The festival will consist of 10 performances. Before the festival proper begins on 31.7, the artists of the festival will perform pop-up performances throughout the region as a musical greeting to locals and tourists alike.
The festival’s programming is built of a varied blend of orchestral and chamber music, including many beloved classics such as Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations as arranged for string trio, Johannes Brahms’ Clarinet quintet, and Antonin Dvorak’s “Dumky” Piano trio.
Concerts will also feature pieces of newer music and lesser heard repertoire, including the Finnish premieres of Doreen Carwithen’s Violin Sonata and Florence Price’s Five Folksongs in Counterpoint. The construction of the program has also brought to the forefront other more-recently recognized female composers of note, such as Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel.
This year the festival also showcases two international stars in a powerful lied-program. German soprano Theresa Pilsl and British-Indian pianist Keval Shah will present a program in the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory that will serve as a potent reminder of the child victims of war throughout the centuries. They will challenge us to change our ways and try to look to the future with hope.
The chamber players of the festival will be made up of some of the most interesting young artists from Finland and abroad, including players from Italy, Sweden, and France.
The Sounds of Luosto festival offers an opportunity to enjoy unique concert venues set in Lappish nature. In addition to the outdoor stage on Ukko-Luosto, one concert will be held at the Porttikoski stage. Built according to the traditions of 1960s Finnish carpentry, the stages octagonal shape provides a unique architectural and acoustic experience. Concerts will also be held at the old church of Sodankylä, an over 330-year-old wooden venue.
The Sounds of Luosto festival is organized by Kuusikko soi ry. Tickets can be purchased in advance from the Ticketmaster estore.
Photo Jiri Halttunen