Independence Day Gala Concert

The Violin Concerto Tree of Memories by Veli-Matti Puumala is at last to get its long-awaited premiere twice postponed because of the Covid pandemic. The Concerto, says Puumala, “deals with memory and memories, the ability to remember and recollect and the loss of memory and memories”. He wrote the Concerto specifically for Carolin Widmann and the sound of her violin, bearing in mind her infinitely adaptable musicianship.
The music of Jean Sibelius occupies an unquestioned place in our Independence Day concerts. Sibelius put together the best of his Press Day music in a Suite called Scènes Historiques. Both the original Press Day music and his first Symphony date from 1899, the year of the February Manifesto and a turning point in Finnish history.