Wang & Salonen by Hillborg, Saariaho, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Sibelius, De (2024/2024), Director musical Esa-Pekka Salonen, Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, Sweden

Explosive energy and charm are key when super pianist Yuja Wang and Esa-Pekka Salonen perform together at the Baltic Sea Festival. Stravinsky’s modernist Capriccio Concerto No. 1 delights the ear at the right pitch to put everyone in a good mood. Prokofiev’s first piano concerto is youthful and virtuoso – pure joy from beginning to end. Sibelius’ orchestral tale about the reckless womanizer Lemminkäinen, known from Finnish mythology, reflects the protagonist’s personality: playful, lovesick and irresistibly spirited, even though a measure of darkness, characteristic of Sibelius, can be detected in the beautifully sombre third movement, The Swan of Tuonela.