SYMPHONIC SUITE - Finnish conductor Kalle Kuusava will lead a concert highlighting symphonic suite Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at the HCM City Opera House on March 23. — Photo courtesy of HBSO

HCM CITY — Finnish conductor Kalle Kuusava, winner of the European Conductors Competition in Oslo in 2013, will lead a concert highlighting symphonic suite Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at the HCM City Opera House on March 23.

Scheherazade, written in 1888, is based on One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of Middle Eastern and Indian tales told by the Sultana Scheherazade.

The four-movement suite was first performed in Saint Petersburg in November 1988. It is considered Rimsky-Korsakov’s most popular work.

In 1910, the Ballets Russes premiered a ballet adaptation of Scheherazade at the Opéra Garnier in Paris in 1910. The ballet was created by Russian choreographer Michel Fokine, and the libretto was created by Fokine and Léon Bakst of Russia.

The performance will feature Phạm Vũ Thiên Bảo, viola principal of the HCM City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO), the Saigon Chamber Orchestra, and the HBSO Symphony Orchestra.

VIOLA STAR - Phạm Vũ Thiên Bảo, viola principal of HBSO, will perform in the concert. Photo courtesy of HBSO

Bảo will introduce viola masterpieces including symphonic poem Finlandia Op. 26 by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and Viola Concerto by English composer William Walton.

Finlandia, written in 1899 and revised in 1900, is considered a symbol of Sibelius's struggle for Finnish independence. It premiered in 1900 in Helsinki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Society conducted by Finnish conductor Robert Kajanus.

Viola Concerto was written in 1929 and first performed at the Queen's Hall, London the same year. The work is a rhythmic dialogue between the viola and the orchestra, gradually emphasizing the artist's excellent techniques.

Bảo graduated as the top student in the Viola department at the Master's level in 2013 and then continued his study for the Diplome Artist Interpret (equivalent to a Doctorate in Music Performance) at the Paris Conservatories.

He has performed with orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra and the Việt Nam National Opera and Ballet, and famous conductors such as Francois-Xavier Roth and Tetsuji Honna.

Bảo has been teaching viola and chamber ensemble at the HCM City Conservatory of Music since 2016.

Conductor Kuusava completed his master’s degree in orchestral conducting at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.

He worked in the Norwegian National Opera from 2008 until 2018 and the season 2007/08 at the Zurich Opera.

He was named laureate of the Evgeny Svetlanov Competition in Paris in 2014.

The concert will begin at 8pm at 7 Lam Sơn Square in District 1. Tickets are available at the venue and www.ticketbox.vn. — VNS