Alexander Scriabin had special ideas about what it would be like to arrive in Paradise. He dreamed of the “Last Day, when I will be absorbed by millions of butterflies in a final dance.” A glimpse of this is conveyed by his large-scale Poème de l’extase, through which Scriabin hoped to induce an ecstatic state for his audience. So prepare yourself to be blown away by this second concert with the Oslo Philharmonic and its charismatic music director Klaus Mäkelä! But the evening will already start with a hint of ecstasy by a Russian composer. Tchaikovsky’s orchestral fantasy The Tempest, loosely based on Shakespeare’s romance, impressively unleashes the forces of nature and lets the passions surge. And when the Chinese star pianist Yuja Wang enters the scene to perform both of Maurice Ravel’s piano concertos, you can be sure there will be no limits to the sense of collective release. Whether you prefer Yuja Wang’s take on the jazz-tinged Concerto for the Left Hand or her approach to the folklore-inspired one in G (for both hands) is a matter of personal taste. In any case, keyboard magic is guaranteed.
