Wegelius Chamber Strings is an ambitious orchestra that performs both Finnish and Nordic chamber orchestra music at a high level. The orchestra enjoys collaborating across artistic boundaries and places a strong emphasis on pedagogy – young musicians are encouraged to perform both as soloists and together with professional musicians within the orchestra. The orchestra, with roots in the Wegelius Chamber Orchestra, was founded in 2003 and operates under the Foundation for the Martin Wegelius Institute. Violinist and Doctor of Music Annemarie Åström has served as WKS’s artistic director since 2013.
Serenadi elämälle
Vaasa City Orchestra
cond. Anna-Maria Helsing
sol. Elina Vähälä. violin
Wegelius Chamber Strings
Dmitri Shostakovich:
Violin Concerto No 2 in Violinkonsert nr. 2 i C-sharp minor
Johannes Brahms:
Serenade No 1 in D Major
Soloist change in the Vaasa City Orchestra’s concert Serenade to Life
Due to a last-minute illness, violinist Stephen Waarts will replace Elina Vähälä as soloist in the Vaasa City Orchestra’s concert Serenadi elämälle. Waarts is likewise an internationally acclaimed violinist, whose poetic and expressive musicianship has made him a favourite with audiences around the world.
Stephen Waarts has quickly established himself as one of the most fascinating violinists of his generation. During the 2024–25 season, he will make solo debuts with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Symphony and Orchestre de Picardie, and will also return to perform with the Hallé Orchestra, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe.
As a distinguished chamber musician, Waarts has appeared at major festivals ranging from Aspen and Rheingau to Gstaad, and has given recitals at venues including Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw, Philharmonie Luxembourg and Lincoln Center. His first recording, Mozart’s First Violin Concerto with Camerata Schweiz, was released on the Alpha Classics label in 2022.
The programme remains unchanged
Although the concert’s soloist has been replaced, the programme will be performed as planned. The first half features Dmitri Shostakovich’s Second Violin Concerto – a work characteristic of his late period, introspective and masterful, in which the hardships he experienced in the Soviet Union can be sensed between the lines.
The second half of the concert takes the listener into the world of the young Johannes Brahms. Early in his career, Brahms struggled with the high standards set by Beethoven’s symphonies, and therefore first honed his craft in other genres. Among these early works, the first of his two delightful youthful serenades – a lively piece in D major that already approaches symphonic proportions – will now be performed under the direction of Chief Conductor Anna-Maria Helsing.
The Vaasa City Orchestra’s concert offers the audience a journey through two very different, yet mutually complementary, works.
Program
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975):
Viulukonsertto nro 2 cis-molli op. 129 (1967)
1. Moderato
2. Adagio
3. Adagio – Allegro
Viulukonsertto nro 2 cis-molli op. 129 (1967)
1. Moderato
2. Adagio
3. Adagio – Allegro
-Intermission-
Johannes Brahms (1833–1897):
Serenadi nro 1 D-duuri / Serenad nr. 1 i D-dur op. 11 (1857–1860)
1. Allegro molto
2. Scherzo: Allegro non troppo – Trio
3. Adagio non troppo
4. Menuetto I – Menuetto II
5. Scherzo: Allegro – Trio
6. Rondo: Allegro
Serenadi nro 1 D-duuri / Serenad nr. 1 i D-dur op. 11 (1857–1860)
1. Allegro molto
2. Scherzo: Allegro non troppo – Trio
3. Adagio non troppo
4. Menuetto I – Menuetto II
5. Scherzo: Allegro – Trio
6. Rondo: Allegro
Artists
Anna-Maria Helsing, conductor
Anna-Maria Helsing has gained recognition especially as a conductor of leading Nordic orchestras and opera houses. She was appointed Chief Conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra in London in 2023, having served as the orchestra’s first Guest Conductor since 2020. From 2010 to 2013, Helsing served as Chief Conductor of the Oulu Symphony Orchestra, becoming the first woman in Finland to be appointed to such a position. From 2025 onwards, she will serve as Chief Conductor of the Vaasa City Orchestra.
Within a short period, Helsing has conducted all of Finland’s and Sweden’s major orchestras, as well as several orchestras in other Nordic countries, the Baltics, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. She has worked with many major orchestras abroad, including the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, she has conducted productions at the Finnish National Opera, the Savonlinna Opera Festival, the Royal Danish and Royal Swedish Operas, the Icelandic Opera, the Gothenburg Opera, and the Stockholm Folkoperan.
After completing her studies at the Sibelius Academy under Leif Segerstam’s conducting class, Helsing was invited to participate in the Allianz Foundation’s International Conductors’ Academy in London, where she was mentored by, among others, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Gustavo Dudamel. In 1999, Helsing won first prize in the International Competition for Young Conductors of New Music in Warsaw. She completed her violin diploma at the Pietarsaari Conservatory and the Bydgoszcz Academy of Music in Poland and has attended masterclasses with Jorma Panula, Vladimir Jurowski, and John Carewe.
Modernism and contemporary music are particularly close to Helsing’s heart.
Stephen Waarts, violin
Stephen Waarts’ innate and poetic musical voice has established him as a firm favourite with audiences across the globe.
In the 2024/25 season, Waarts makes his debuts with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra performing Brahms Violin Concerto under the baton of Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Oregon Symphony and Hannu Lintu with Barber, Orchestre de Picardie and Johanna Malangré with Prokofiev Violin Concerto No.2, and Israel Camerata and Marc Minkowski playing Bach and Mozart. He also returns to the Hallé Orchestra, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Szczecin Philharmonic, working with Thomas Adès, Markus Poschner and Sir Andras Schiff.
Highlights of recent seasons include the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Berner Symphonieorchester, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de Belgique, Fort Worth Symphony, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, with conductors including Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Andras Schiff, Marin Alsop, Constantinos Carydis, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Dalia Stasevska, Robert Spano, Maxime Pascal, Markus Stenz and Elim Chan.
A passionate recitalist and chamber musician, Waarts’ regular chamber partners include Sir Andras Schiff, Francesco Piemontesi, Daniel Müller-Schott, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Timothy Ridout, Tabea Zimmermann, and Martin Helmchen. Waarts has appeared at renowned festivals including Aspen, Marlboro, Gstaad, and Rheingau. He has also appeared in recital at Philharmonie Luxembourg, Philharmonie Haarlem, Fundación Juan March, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Auditorium du Louvre, Boulez Saal, San Francisco Performances and Vancouver Recital Society. This season includes recitals at Bath Mozartfest, Edesche Concertzaal, Wigmore Hall, and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.
Wegelius Chamber Strings