Anja Bihlmaier, conductor
Martina Filjak, piano

Mikko Heiniö: Maestoso
Maurice Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major (soloist)
Mikko Heiniö: 3. symphony (sinfonia concertante for percussions and orchestra)
world premiere

Mikko Heiniö’s 70th-birthday concert showcases his diversity as a composer. His third Symphony features a percussion group, piano, celesta and harp in soloist roles. The work opening the programme, Maestoso, is a reference to King Erik XIV of Sweden, who was deposed and imprisoned in Turku Castle. He insisted on being addressed as ‘Your Majesty’. The music is based on a fragment of music written by Erik XIV himself in captivity. Heiniö’s works frame Ravel’s jazz-influenced Piano Concerto, which is performed by brilliant pianist Martina Filjak.