Erkki-Sven Tüür's Violin Concerto no. 3 Conversations with the Unknown (2019/2020) will be premiered by Israeli violinist Vadim Gluzman and the Oregon Symphony Orchestra under the direction of David Danzmayr. The work is a joint commission of the Oregon Symphony Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and will have its world premiere on January 27 at Willamette University's Smith Auditorium in Salem and on January 28, 29 and 30 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland. The initally planned premiere in May 2020 at Frankfurt's Alte Oper was postponed due to the pandemic.


Erkki-Sven Tüür (Photo: Vallo Kuusner)

According to the composer, the title of the work refers to the various possible conversations with your "other self": with your inner voice or conscience, with God (in the most abstract sense) or with someone you don't know but want to consider your close friend. Conversation as a dialogue is always in constant development and change. A violin soloist tries to bring light and better understanding of life in the middle of a maze of ideas and values, searching for answers to the most existential questions.

Tüür's third violin concerto was composed especially with Vadim Gluzman in mind: "His extraordinary talent, musicality, energy and timbre act as a creative trigger for me and a source of sonic inspiration."


Violinist Vadim Gluzman. (Photo: Marco Borggreve)

The concert program opens with the famous Finlandia by Jean Sibelius, Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 will be performed next to Tüür's new work.

The Oregon Symphony Orchestra is one of America's largest orchestras. Over a hundred concerts are given every year. The orchestra's last season (2021/2022) marked the 125th anniversary of the oldest orchestra in the western United States.

More information: Oregon Symphony

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