Also sprach Zarathustra

John Storgårds, conductor
Guy Braunstein, violin
Turku Philharmonic Orchestra

Anna Þhorvaldsdóttir: Catamorphosis (duration 20′)
Antonín Dvořák (arr. Guy Braunstein): Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra from the opera Rusalka (duration 23′)
Intermission, duration 20′
Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra (duration 32′)

The spring symphony series ends with the splendor of a large symphony orchestra. Also sprach Zarathustra explores humanity’s connection to the world through religion, while Catamorphosis does so through environmental destruction. “God is dead,” Nietzsche declares in his book, which inspired Richard Strauss to compose his grandiose symphonic poem. At the heart of Anna Þhorvaldsdóttir’s Catamorphosis lies our fragile relationship with our planet. The work is characterized by intensity and a whirlwind of emotions: if things do not change, we risk complete destruction. Guy Braunstein has arranged a rhapsody based on the opera Rusalka, which is based on the fairy tale of the water nymph, and will perform the work himself in a concert conducted by Chief Conductor John Storgårds.