The Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra (OCO) has had a busy summer, with a number of guest appearances at Finnish festivals. Those at the Sysmä Summer Sounds Festival, the Korsholm Music Festival and the Crusell Music Festival in Uusikaupunki won acclaim from critics and audiences alike.

Under its Artistic Director, violinist-leader Malin Broman, the OCO gave the opening concert at the Korsholm Music Festival on Wednesday July 28. Wrote critic Katariina Korkman in Ilkka-Pohjalainen: “The charge was so strong that if anyone had claimed there would no longer be any music in the world tomorrow, I would have believed them. And there seemed to be no end to the applause.”

Praise was also expressed for the programme, which included the Lied von der Erde by the Korsholm Festival’s theme composer Mats Larsson Gothe composed for the OCO in 2011, and works by Sally Beamish and Benjamin Britten. “The playing was robust, nuanced, stirring, empowering, full of finesse and well-balanced,” she goes on. The soloists in Astor Piazzolla’s The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires were Broman and internationally acclaimed, Düsseldorf-based double-bassist Rick Stotijn. “The soloists both played with spirit, but never before have I heard a double bass like this, with a sound so rich and delightfully mellow. The joy and pleasure afforded by this concert were a reminder of what a fantastic cultural unit the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra is,” wrote Korkman.

Santeri Kaipiainen in Rondo Classic also wrote in the same vein: “[Rick Stotijn’s] double bass was spot on throughout and sang magnificently – his touch, accenting and special techniques were balm to the ears. Broman was by no means overshadowed, throwing spunky tango phrasings complete with ricochet glissandos into the ring. The programme as a whole was admirably matched by the Britten Variations, their Neoclassical idiom darting here and there with a twinkle in the eye and emanating, tradition, drama and a kindly smile along with lyrical beauty.”

Broman and the OCO continued their journey to the Crusell Music Festival in Uusikaupunki, where they appeared in the gala Treaty of Nystad (Uusikaupunki) concert on Friday July 30. The soloist here was Romanian-German countertenor Valer Sabadus. The audience at the new Uusikaupunki Church gave the orchestra a standing ovation at the end. The concert was broadcast on Yle radio 1 and can be accessed on Areena (https://areena.yle.fi/audio/1-50845223). The OCO under Jaakko Kuusisto also played for the finals of the Crusell Clarinet Competition on Saturday July 31. The competitors played the Crusell clarinet concertos 1, 2 & 3 and a new commission by Matilda Seppälä. The winner was Jonathan Leibovici. This concert was also broadcast on Yle radio 1 and can be accessed on Areena (https://areena.yle.fi/audio/1-50835160).

The first concert of the orchestra’s summer festival tour, at the Sysmä Summer Sounds Festival on July 10 under Jaakko Kuusisto, was also a success, in a programme taking in both Arvo Pärt and Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The soloist in Jaakko Kuusisto’s Cello Concerto, Op. 38 was Jan-Erik Gustafsson. The OCO was to have guested at the Turku Music Festival, in the Vasks gala at the Turku Concert Hall on Saturday August 7 with Klaus Mäkelä conducting, but the Festival once again had to be cancelled because of the deteriorating pandemic situation in the region.

The programme for the OCO’s autumn season will shortly be announced at www.kamariorkesteri.fi, when tickets will go on sale at www.netticket.fi. The autumn season will strictly observe the official safety regulations.

Further info: Sara Nikula-Nyman, Publicity Manager
Tel. 040-762 7616, sara.nikula-nyman@kamariorksteri.fi