Estonian National Symphony embarks on first UK tour
Florence Lockheart
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
The orchestra will perform with Irish pianist Barry Douglas at venues across the UK from 13 to 25 May
Estonia's oldest symphony orchestra, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (Eesti Riiklik Sumfooniaorkester, ERSO) will embark on its first tour to the UK this week with a series of performances with Irish pianist Barry Douglas. From 13 to 25 May, the ensemble will travel with Douglas to 11 venues across the UK to deliver performances of works by composers including by Pärt, Dvořak, Sibelius, Thea Musgrave and Rachmaninov.
The tour builds on the ensemble’s existing relationship with Douglas, following performances together at the 2020 Mustonen festival. They have also performed the upcoming tour programme at the orchestra’s home in Tallinn, the Estonia Concert Hall, this week as a three-part finale for the ERSO’s 2022-23 season.
Douglas said: ‘I am very excited about this wonderful tour with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and maestro Olari Elts when we celebrate the great music of Rachmaninov. His is a supreme artistry where sincerity, passion and zest for life moves us and uplifts the spirit of the listener. From Opus 1 to the great 3rd Piano Concerto, we see into the mind and soul of an artist and creator of immense scope and humanity. These works are full of difficulty for everyone, not least the pianist, but not one note is superfluous or out of place.’
Concerts will take place in locations from Norwich to Edinburgh to Croydon under the baton of music director and chief conductor Olari Elts. Elts has curated each performance with combinations of Sergei Rachmaninov's Piano Concertos No 1-3, Antonin Dvořák's Symphonies No 7 and 9, Thea Musgrave's Song of the Enchanter and Jean Sibelius' Symphony No 5 as well as Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.
Elts said: ‘We are looking forward to visiting and discovering each of the cities for our concerts and cannot wait to meet again with the wonderful Barry Douglas. Estonia is one of the regional centres of innovation and, being on the crossroads between East and West and connecting Scandinavia to Eastern Europe, our unique “Estonian sound” will resonate with the repertoire we have carefully chosen’.
The ERSO will also benefit music students in the capital ahead of its concert at Croydon’s Fairfield Halls on 25 May. In a pre-concert talk and workshop aspiring musicians studying at London’s first Yamaha Music School will meet the ensemble on the venue stage before attending the performance for free.