SHOSTAKOVICH/BRUCKNER – COLOGNE PHILHARMONIE, GERMANY

10 November 2018
WDR Sinfonieorchester, Alban Gerhardt

“Powerful outbreaks of energy, brilliant crescendi and beautifully staged transitions.

…The perfomance was highly convincing and captivating; brilliantly played.”

12 November 2018
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger, Markus Schwering

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WDR SINFONIEORCHESTER IN SALZBURG AND VIENNA

The orchestra plays Bruckner, Beethoven and Shostakovich at the Salzburg Festpielhaus and Konzerhaus Vienna this November.
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DEBUSSY/SAINT-SAENS/SIBELIUS – SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, AUSTRALIA

17,19&20 October 2018
Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Jean-Yves Thibaudet

“…superb performance…

…well-judged tempo contrasts, scrupulous dynamic control, dark-hued, unvarnished sonorities and tight-knit ensemble created a dramatic, intensely expressive interpretation that revealed an insightful understanding of the symphony’s distinctive structure and each movement’s specific character.”

18 October 2018
Murray Black, The Australian

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BERG/MAHLER – TONHALLE MAAG, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND

12, 13&14 September 2018
Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Janine Jansen

“Saraste’s first movement was given an emphatic, exhilarating reading…graceful and elegant in the Ländler, properly savage in the Rondo-Burleske.
The final ‘dying’ movement was a glory, with enchanting solos from both concertmaster Andreas Janke and principal viola Gilad Karni. After almost inaudible closing bars, Saraste held the audience in the palm of his hand before allowing them to start the generous applause.”

14 September 2018
John Rhodes, Seen and Heard International

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Beethoven: Symphonies 4&5

Profil – PH17084

“An air of faint enigma has always wafted around Saraste. His image of Beethoven, however, is captivating due to its unity, compactness, decisiveness. These qualities of conceptual clarity can also be traced back to the exemplary state of his orchestra…. Saraste’s ability to conjure elastic details from the closely woven parts of the Fourth, which otherwise leaves little space within its dense fabric, is amazing. It’s very good work with a great sense for detail, without losing sight of the whole. We are presented with a conductor who has his own approach to Beethoven. Saraste proves here that there is still juice in these too-frequently-squeezed lemons.”

Kai Luehrs-Kaiser, FonoForum, September 2018

“Saraste’s detailed and unforced conducting and the first rate playing of the WDR Symphony Orchestra make this a most successful CD, all the more so because of the excellent sound quality.”

Remy Franck, Pizzicato, June 2018

BRAHMS: SYMPHONIES NOS. 1-4

Profil – PH18032

“Highly Recommended”

AllMusic, Blair Sanderson, July 2018

“Jukka-Pekka Saraste’s series of Brahms symphonies with his WDR Symphony Orchestra is particularly exciting as a surprising approach is taken for each single work, according to its individual character. Saraste and his orchestra savour the Phrygian key of the slow movement’s main motif to the full, with perfect beauty of sound. The Allegro giocoso sounds powerful and exuberant, and the finale determined.”

LvG, WAZ, April 2018

STRAVINSKY – COLOGNE PHILHARMONIE, GERMANY

6&7 July 2018
WDR Sinfonieorchester, Pekka Kuusisto

“Bravi were elicited by the pagan spectacle of Stravinsky’s “Spring Sacrifice”, which, despite all its vehemence and coarse rhythms, notably puts the orchestra’s current playing culture to the test. And after eight years with Saraste, this is really impressive. Under his encouraging grasp, Stravinsky’s ballet machine “Le Sacre de Printemps”… reached the finish line as the winner; the bravi were well-deserved.”

9 July 2018
Olaf Weiden, Kölnische Rundschau

“Stravinsky’s music, oscillating between primitivism and construcivism, found congenial interpreters in the excellently prepared WDR Sinfonieorchester, which under chief conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste transformed the Cologne Philharmonie into orgiastic pandemonium.”

9 July 2018
Rainer Nonnenmann, Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger

Tour in Japan with the NHK Symphony Orchestra

J-P takes the orchestra on a four-stop tour of Japan July 21-24
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First disc of Beethoven symphony cycle recording with WDR Sinfonieorchester out on June 1

The complete cycle of Beethoven’s symphonies was recorded live in Cologne at the Koelner Philharmonie in November 2017 and February 2018.