ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½

Northern myths and southern passion. Sibelius meets Piazzolla as bandoneon phenomenon Henrik SandÃ¥s joins Anna-Maria Helsing and the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra.

A swan sings sadly on a dark river; a northern sunrise blazes across an icy landscape.

Meanwhile, an ocean away, the Argentinian tango-master Astor Piazzolla sings the sorrows of a nation.

Tonight, the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ Concert Orchestra and Anna-Maria Helsing unite north and south, nature and humanity: the elemental force of Sibelius’ Finnish myths, and the hopes and fears of our own era.

Tying it all together is the bandoneon, the extraordinary Argentinian instrument that’s been described as the soul of the tango – and in the hands of the Finnish virtuoso Henrik Sandås, there’s no emotion it can’t lay bare.

To end the concert, the orchestra premieres a dazzling new showpiece by Johan Ullén – a tango that imagines a whole sensuous world dancing on the edge of the abyss.

Sounds extraordinary? Just wait till you hear him play it…