Greetings from the artistic directors of Oulu Music Festival

Dear friends of the Oulu Music Festival, 

“How the storm has torn apart the grey mantle of the sky! Tattered clouds fly about in weary conflict.” Among others, you can hear this verse in the first chamber concert of the Oulu Music Festival 2023. The verse is part of Franz Schubert's Winterreise, Winter Journey, composed to poems by Wilhelm Müller. Winterreisea, Talvista matkaa. 

The year 2022 was a year of change and loss. In February, sad news reached the entire music world: composer, conductor, violinist and long-time artistic director of the Oulu Music Festival Jaakko Kuusisto had passed away of a serious illness. Jaakko's successors, Elina and Jukka, successfully piloted the 2022 concerts despite the lingering shadow of the corona pandemic. When Elina took over as the artistic director of the Naantali Music Festival in the spring of 2022, soprano Mari Palo was chosen to replace her in Oulu Music Festival. With the change of artistic director, the 2023 program may have more vocal music than in previous years.

We consider it very important that the people of Oulu feel that this is their own festival. We hope that the high-quality and versatile program of the festival will also reach new visitors. Having often performed here ourselves, we recognize the spirit of Oulu: it is teamwork, inspiring and always striving for the best possible outcome. 

The theme of the 2023 festival is Näkyjä – Visions. Together we hear the concerts, together we see them; together we can see and experience also a familiar piece of music in a new light. Let us therefore return again to Schubert, who composed Winterreisen in his last years. The series depicts the main character's journey away from his beloved, it depicts the end of love. The parts of the work are an inner journey. They could be visions.

Fortunately, the time of streamed concerts is now behind us, and we get to experience the presence of the audience and the musicians again and have genuine interaction at the concerts. As the beginning of a concert approaches, the tension builds. The lights dim, the audience quiets down, the musicians take their places and wait a moment until they are ready to offer a live performance to the audience. It is an indescribably wonderful feeling to be part of this shared moment. Whether we are in the audience or on stage, we share something unique together. 
 

Mari Palo ja Jukka Perko 
Artistic Directors