Tales of the north by Beethoven, Sibelius, Prokofiev, From (2023/2023), Conductor Gianandrea Noseda, Barbican Centre, London, United Kingdom

Ludwig van Beethoven Overture: Coriolan Jean Sibelius Violin Concerto -Interval- Sergei Prokofiev Symphony No 6 Janine Jansen plays Sibelius’ Violin Concerto, at the heart of a concert filled with powerful stories from cold countries. Tension, struggle and endless horizons. Sibelius finds both ice and fire in the windswept expanses and soaring tunes of his Violin Concerto. Prokofiev sends an urgent musical bulletin from Stalin’s Russia: music of iron and steel, forged in a time of war and tyranny. But first, Ludwig van Beethoven lights the fuse, in a quickfire overture that has drama pulsing through every note. ‘I love playing with the LSO,’ says the Dutch violinist Janine Jansen, whose gleaming sound and generous spirit makes everything she plays into an adventure. ‘There’s so much there, so much focus and energy.’ ‘Other composers mix colourful cocktails. I offer pure, cool water.’ ~Jean Sibelius