Lindberg's Viola Concerto for Lawrence Power Debuts in St. Louis
Magnus Lindberg’s Viola Concerto receives its North American premiere with Lawrence Power, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Hannu Lintu in March.
Magnus Lindberg’s Viola Concerto for British viola virtuoso Lawrence Power makes its North American debut as Power joins the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Hannu Lintu on March 14-16. Power gave the world premiere of the concerto and recorded it with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Nicholas Collon last year on an all-Lindberg album. He has also performed the work in London (Philharmonia / Esa-Pekka Salonen), and tours it this spring to Hamburg (NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra / Alan Gilbert) and Salzburg (Mozarteum Orchestra / Aivis Greters) ahead of the performances in St. Louis.
Hannu Lintu is a longtime champion of Lindberg's music, having conducted many works by his fellow Finn, including the world premiere of Lindberg’s Serenades with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2021, as well as TEMPUS FUGIT with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2017.
Lindberg’s Viola Concerto is 35 minutes long and scored for a ‘Mozart’-sized classical orchestra. The Guardian writes: "The traditional three-movement form of a concerto lies behind it, with the main sections signalled by brass fanfares, though that fast-slow-fast scheme is punctuated by a skittering interlude and two cadenzas, in the second of which Power sings along to his own strummed accompaniment.”
Lindberg describes the character-based nature of his music, drawing comparisons to to his Piano Concerto No. 3 for Yuja Wang:
“I work with a large number of different characters, all identified by different harmonies, tempi and textures, drawing parallels with the course of my Piano Concerto No. 3 ... I have often spoken about my way of working with musical material as an ‘extended Sonata form’. Rather than working with the contrasting difference between a main theme and a secondary theme, I typically have a collection of characters, with various degrees of contrast between them. These characters follow each other in a whirlpool-like rapid manner, often giving the music a kaleidoscopic nature.”
Following the UK premiere, The Times praised: "The wondrous aspect of Lindberg’s creation was that underneath its hyperactive surface it was still possible to spot some conventional musical scaffolding: phrases and intervals that kept recurring or mutating, or overblown gestures that might have toppled off from something by Richard Strauss."
Concert Information
Friday, March 14, 2025 at 7:30pm CT
Sunday, March 16, 2025 at 3pm CT
Touhill Performing Arts Center | St. Louis
More info
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
Hannu Lintu, conductor
Lawrence Power, viola
Kaija Saariaho Ciel d'hiver
Magnus Lindberg Viola Concerto (North American Premiere)
Robert Schumann Symphony No. 2
> Further information on Work: Viola Concerto
Photo: Philip Gatward