The Baltic Sea Philharmonic and Kristjan Järvi are set to return to the concert stage in September with performances in Italy and Germany. The orchestra’s ‘Nordic Pulse’ tour – an innovative celebration of the North, with music performed completely by heart – was originally scheduled to include concerts at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Bonn Beethovenfest and the Merano Music Festival, in Peenemünde at the Usedom Music Festival, and in Stockholm. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Beethovenfest has been cancelled, and the Baltic Sea Philharmonic’s concerts in Hamburg and Stockholm have been postponed until March 2021. The ‘Nordic Pulse’ tour performances in Merano on 10 September and Peenemünde on 12 September will, however, go ahead, depending on the progress of the pandemic and also on travel regulations and local authority requirements. ‘Nordic Pulse’ – an exhilarating Baltic adventure
The COVID-19 situation means that the Baltic Sea Philharmonic will be touring as a smaller ensemble of around 40 musicians. The ‘Nordic Pulse’ programme of musical riches will take audiences on a journey of discovery across the Baltic Sea region. Russian composer Tchaikovsky features on the programme, as well as Sibelius from Finland and Grieg from Norway. The orchestra showcases music from young contemporary composers such as Gediminas Gelgotas from Lithuania and Sven Helbig and Robot Koch from Germany, as well as music by Kristjan Järvi representing Estonia. ‘Nordic Pulse’ also includes Beethoven in his 250th anniversary year, with his Symphony No. 5. Although the ensemble will be, out of necessity, more compact than usual, audiences can expect to feel the same thrill and joy that the Baltic Sea Philharmonic brings to all its performances. The ‘Nordic Pulse’ concert that was due to take place at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg on 5 September has been postponed to 14 March 2021, when it will form part of the Baltic Sea Philharmonic’s ‘Midnight Sun’ tour of Poland and Germany. All tickets that have been purchased for the concert on 5 September remain valid for the new date next March.
Creating unique online orchestral experiences During the unprecedented break from live performance, the Baltic Sea Philharmonic has been busy producing innovative online music experiences. It created one of the most ambitious virtual orchestra videos of its kind, with a 20-minute recording of music from Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7, featuring 108 musicians in 18 countries, which premiered on 8 May. By mid-July the orchestra will launch a unique collaborative online project called ‘Musical Chain’, beginning with a series of remix videos that transform classical music gems for the 21st century. The first of these videos, ‘Midnight Mood’, which is based on ‘Morning Mood’ from Grieg’s Peer Gynt, will be available to watch shortly on the Baltic Sea Philharmonic’s social media channels. For the Baltic Sea Philharmonic’s full concert schedule, see here. The Shostakovich virtual orchestra video is available to watch on YouTube
