Heartily welcome to our home pages.

Welcome dear friends, the Sibelius in Korpo festival takes place this summer for the twentythird time, between 19th and 21st of July, in this beautiful sunny archipelago environment. The theme for this summer’s festival will be “Jean Sibelius and Béla Bartók. This summer in total we will have four concerts, three in the Korpo Manor and one in the Norrskata Church which is arranged in cooperation with Norrskata Kulturvänner rf.

We are happy again to be able to wish welcome to Korpo a group of internationally renowned musicians – some of them are visiting Korpo for the first time.

I wish all of you in the audience enjoyable, personal experiences with the music of Jean Sibelius and Béla Bartók in the beautiful Korpo Manor, and in the Norrskata church.

Petri Kirkkomäki

Executive Director, baritone

Sibelius in Korpo festival

Greeting from the Artistic Director:

The Merry 1880s and César Franck 200

The Sibelius festival in Korpo, edition XXI, this year takes place during the week-end 15–17.7.2022. The theme will be ”The Meryy 1880s and César Franck 200”. Among other things, the concerts will include compositions by the young Sibelius, composed during his Hämeenlinna years 1881-85, and from his studying years 1885-1889, in the Helsinki Music Academy. The Festival Orchestra will be led by Petri Sakari. In the opening concert in the Korpo Church on Friday 15.7 the audience will listen to, among other things, the Presto part of the string quartet in B Major, which Sibelius was working on from the year 1889 onwards - one of Sibelius’ first orchestral pieces.

The traditional twilight concerts at The Korpo Manor will take place on Saturday 16.7 at 7pm and 9pm, performed by two string quartets – among other things the climax of Sibelius’ quartet production which started in the 1880s, ie the string quartet Votes intimate composed in 1909.

On Saturday and Sunday at 1.30 in the Municipality House of Korpo the audience can follow and enjoy an adventure opera for children, Vickan & Väinö, composed by Cecilia Damström.

In the final concert on Sunday 17.7 we return to the atmosphere of the 1880s. Sebastian Silén will perform among other things the merry sonata part which Sibelius immediately composed upon hearing that he had become a secondary school graduate. On top of this we will also celebrate the Belgian composer César Franck, 200 years after his birth. The Italian cello virtuoso Domenico Ermirio will perform Franck’s evergreen sonata (also composed in the 1880s).

Folke Gräsbeck

Artistic Director, piano

Sibelius in Korpo festival

ABOUT US

Sibelius iN korpo festival

The Festival Sibelius in Korpo has taken place since 2002. During these 16 years, 2002–2021, more than 270 compositions by Jean Sibelius have been performed, 26 of them as world première performances. The festival has gained a reputation as a special forum for Sibelius’s music – at the concerts rare compositions from his youth are heard alongside well-known masterpieces. The aim is to shed light on the various stylistic phases of Sibelius’s œuvre. Since the start in 2002, the programmes have been designed by the festival’s artistic director, pianist Folke Gräsbeck. Since 2012, baritone Petri Kirkkomäki has been director of administration.

‘The Sibelius siblings lifted Uncle Pehr’s square piano into the fishing boat, and they played piano trio on the waves. Janne played the violin, Christian the cello and Linda the piano.’

Historical background
1886–1887

The Sibelius family spent summer holidays in Korpo in the Åbo (Turku) archipelago in 1886 and 1887. The first summer the family stayed on the big northern island of Norrskata, at the Vidix House, situated on the beautiful Hafträsk Bay. The second summer was spent in the centre of the Korpo church village, at Korpo Manor. Sibelius composed a major piano trio each summer, in 1886 the ‘Hafträsk’ Trio, JS 207, and in 1887 the ‘Korpo’ Trio, JS 209. Both works are the foremost compositions from their respective years. In addition, Sibelius composed around 20 other works. These have formed the basis of the festival’s concert programmes.

The festival takes place regularly on the penultimate weekend of July. Since 2011, concerts have been arranged on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. In addition, a welcoming ceremony has been held on Saturday afternoon at the Sibelius monument (depicting the young Sibelius with his violin). The monument was unveiled in 2006 at the centre of the church village, close to the medieval Korpo Church. Orchestral and choir concerts have been held at the church, while other concerts have been arranged mainly at Korpo Manor (1805), designed by the Italian architect Charles Bassi. The manor’s famous musical salon is located upstairs, and provides an excellent acoustic. In this salon, the Sibelius family members spent many lengthy musical soirées during the summer of 1887. Their hostess Ina Wilenius, a talented pianist, was also an active player. In 2003, a high quality Grotrian Steinweg grand piano was acquired, and many of the concerts have been broadcast by Finnish Radio.

Learn more

2024 FESTIVAL

The Sibelius in Korpo XXIII festival

19–21.7. 2024

“Jean Sibelius and Béla Bartók”

Additional information and tickets: petri.kirkkomaki@kolumbus.fi, puh. 0400-708 878

Artists:

Petri Kirkkomäki, executive director, baritone, executive director

Folke Gräsbeck, artistic director, piano

Jyrki Anttila, tenor

Emma Kajander, soprano

Fredrika Mikkola, violin, (France), young artist of the year 2024

Laura Mikkola, piano, (France)

Wegelius Chamber Strings, dir. Erik Nygård, Annemarie Åström, violin, concertmaster

Friday 19.7. 2024 Twilight concert at Korpo Manor at 6 pm

Jyrki Anttila tenor, Emma Kajander soprano, Folke Gräsbeck piano, artistic director

a.o. Sibelius: Var det en dröm? - The Golden Age of Romantic Nationalism

Saturday 20.7. 2024 the Norrskata church at 3 pm

Wegelius Chamber Strings, dir. Erik Nygård, Annemarie Åström violin, concertmaster, Folke Gräsbeck piano

a.o. Sibelius: Rakastava-suite, Bartók: Six romanian dances, Armas Järnefelt: Berceuse, The lament of the abandoned one

Saturday 20.7. 2024 concert at Korpo Manor at 6 pm

Emma Kajander soprano, Fredrika Mikkola violin, Laura Mikkola piano, Folke Gräsbeck piano

a.o.. Sibelius and the Astronomy: The Meteorsonata for violin and piano

Sunday 21.7. 2024 Flower greeting at the Sibelius monument in Korpo centre at 12 am

Music, flower greetings and speeches,

a.o. Emma Kajander soprano, song, Petri Kirkkomäki baritone speech and song

Sunday 21.7. 2024 Final concert at Korpo Manor at 3 pm

Fredrika Mikkola violin, Laura Mikkola piano, Folke Gräsbeck piano

a.o. Bartók: Rapsody for violin, Mikrokosmos, Sibelius: Finlandia op.26

Sibelius was once asked which contemporary composers does he hold in high regard. He answered “R. Strauss, Sjostakovitj and Bartók”. We have already had a Strauss program in Korpo and it Bartók’s turn. The young artist of the year, the violinist Fredrika Mikkola performs the tantalizing Rapsody nbr 1 together with her mother the pianovirtuoso Laura Mikkola (Paris). The Wegelius Chamber strings celebrate in 2024, 20 years of successful musicianship

The program in detail:

Friday 19.7. 2024 Twillight concert at Korpo Manor at 6 pm

Jyrki Anttila tenor, Emma Kajander soprano, Folke Gräsbeck piano, artistic director

to be updated

Saturday 20.7. 2024 the Norrskata church at 3 pm

Wegelius Chamber Strings, dir. Erik Nygård, Annemarie Åström violin, concertmaster, Folke Gräsbeck piano

to be updated

Saturday 20.7. 2024 concert at Korpo Manor at 6 pm

Emma Kajander soprano, Fredrika Mikkola violin, Laura Mikkola piano, Folke Gräsbeck piano

to be updated

Sunday 21.7. 2024 Flower greeting at the Sibelius Monument in Korpo centre at 12 am

Music, flower greetings, speeches,