Estimated duration

2 h, incl. intermission

Organizer

Mikkelin Musiikkijuhlat

PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA
Santtu-Matias Rouvali, cond.
Gabriela Montero, piano

PROGRAM
Gabriela Montero: Latin concerto No. 1
***
Camille Saint-Saëns: Symphony No 3 C Minor Op. 78

The Philharmonia Orchestra, the resident orchestra of the Mikkeli Music Festival, will give an exceptional performance at Musiikkitalo as part of its 2026 visit. The concert will be conducted by the orchestra’s Chief Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, with Venezuelan piano star Gabriela Montero appearing as the soloist.

The programme includes the Finnish premiere of Montero’s Piano Concerto No. 1, Latin Concerto, as well as Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3, Op. 78, featuring the Helsinki Music Centre’s organ. The concert will also include the improvisations that have become Montero’s international hallmark.

Founded in 1945 and performing primarily at London’s Royal Festival Hall, the Philharmonia Orchestra has secured its place in music history through numerous acclaimed recordings. The orchestra performs regularly in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls (including Carnegie Hall in New York and the Musikverein in Vienna). Among its long-serving principal conductors are Herbert von Karajan, Otto Klemperer, Riccardo Muti, Vladimir Ashkenazy and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Since the 2021/2022 season, Santtu-Matias Rouvali has served as the orchestra’s Chief Conductor.

Reviews of pianist Gabriela Montero frequently highlight her exceptional talent and sheer brilliance in the art of piano performance. As a piano virtuoso, she combines steely power with feather-light delicacy, and as an interpreter she is described as both temperamentally explosive and captivatingly sensitive.

Montero has become internationally renowned not only for her remarkable improvisations but also as a composer and recording artist of South American music. She has received numerous honours, including a Latin Grammy Award, and Amnesty International has appointed her Honorary Consul in recognition of her work to improve the human rights situation in Venezuela.