In 2019, Chief Conductor Alexander Prior will lead the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra through one of the most ambitious projects in its history: a dedicated Sibelius Festival, offering audiences and musicians alike an immersive journey through the works of a composer Alex considers nothing less than a “lifelong friend.”
The festival marks a first for the ESO; the orchestra has never devoted such a focused program to a single composer, and it bears the unmistakable stamp of Alex’s curatorial vision, scholarly depth, and infectious enthusiasm. Familiar masterworks will be featured throughout, including the Second and Fifth Symphonies, the Violin Concerto, Finlandia, Valse triste, and the Karelia Suite. But the festival will also break new ground for the orchestra, with first-ever ESO performances of the austere and searching Fourth Symphony, the vast orchestral tone poem Tapiola, and the incidental music for The Tempest, among others.
