About the Festival
The Baltic Festival 2024 Focuses on Dreams and Visions
The Baltic Sea Festival 2024 opens with Mussorgsky’s opera Khovanshchina. It is the story of a turbulent time in Russian history, based on real events not unlike what goes on in Russia today: lethal political infighting and power struggles. Power hungry revolutionaries are eliminated, one by one, until a winning hegemon emerges, later known as Peter the Great. Mussorgsky’s magnificent music is performed by soloists, a large choir, and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.
There exists no other contemporary opera that can better be described as reading a daily newspaper, which makes performing it now highly relevant. We may even learn something from it.
On 24 August, Ukraine’s Independence Day will be marked by a concert in which members of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra will join Ukrainian colleagues in a concert conducted by the Ukrainian-British conductor Maxim Rysanov. The same evening, a talk on democracy based on the opera Khovanshchina and the current situation around the Baltic Sea, with a view of envisioning future scenarios, will be conducted in collaboration with the Swedish Institute.
“The Baltic Sea Festival 2024, with its nine days of concerts, talks, workshops, art and festivities takes its cue from the challenges of our time and inspiring hope. Since its inception twenty years ago, the objective has always been the same: presenting high-quality musical performances and promoting collaboration between people in aid of the Baltic Sea. This year’s programme is inspired by visionaries that guide the world in search of new directions, that inspire us to look for new solutions, allow us to have dreams and help us believe in a better world,” says Berwaldhallen Director Staffan Becker.
Some Baltic Sea Festival 2024 highlights
- World premiere of five commissioned works inspired by dreams and visions
- Baltic Sea Day is celebrated with a guest performance by the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra conducted by Tõnu Kaljuste
- Science is explored through new music in the Baltic Sea Science Lab
- International artists Yuja Wang on the piano and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen appear together in an energetic and delightful programme