Henning Kraggerud is undoubtedly one of the most intriguing instrumentalists of our time. The Norwegian violinist, conductor and composer easily combines what is versatile in music – in his work we can find improvisations and perfectly thought-out formal works, which often refer to the legacy of old masters. This evening the artist will conduct the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra in works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and in variations of his own authorship, dedicated to the Finnish writer – Zachris Topelius.

The Symphony in A major, completed in 1774, belongs to the cycle of the so-called Salzburg symphonies, and although Mozart composed it when he was only eighteen, it is an example of a work with an exceptionally refined form and many perfectly applied compositional means. Youthful vigour is audible in its sound layer full of finesse and freshness. It is still considered one of Mozart’s most popular early symphonies, in which his mature style gradually crystallised. The Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, KV 219, also known as the “Turkish” was composed in a similar period. It was composed in 1775 in Mozart’s hometown of Salzburg. It is the score of this violin concerto by Mozart that has been most eagerly performed by generations of artists, who wanted to face the challenges that fill the work. German musicologist Alfred Einstein described it as “unsurpassed in brilliance, ardour and esprit”. Indeed, this composition is distinguished by its captivating virtuosity and brilliant lightness.

Between the pieces by Mozart, the musicians will perform Henning Kraggerud’s Topelius Variations. Like Edvard Grieg in his Suite in the Old Style op. 40 dedicated to the great Danish writer Ludwig Holberg, Kraggerud pays musical tribute to Zachris Topelius – a figure of great importance to Finnish culture. The work was created in 2017 on commission from the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra in Finland and – as the composer emphasises – was inspired by the life and legacy of the artist. This writer created in the late Romantic spirit, publishing poems, novels and dramas. Yet he became famous for his literature for children, including fairy tales and short stories. Topelius also went down in history as the author of the libretto for the first Finnish opera – Friedrich Pacius’s Kaarle-kuninkaan metsästys from 1852.