Andrejs Osokins & Estonian National Symphony Orchestra

Russian and German classics will be performed at concerts in Tallinn and on the two sides of the Estonian-Latvian border. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s best-known orchestral piece, the symphonic suite Schéhérazade, will take its listeners to a fairy-tale world to meet the characters of the famous Arabic collection of stories and folk tales One Thousand and One Nights. The soloist of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 is the Latvian pianist Andrejs Osokins, who resides in London and is sought-after on stages all around the world. He has been a laureate at several international competitions, including the Leeds, Rubinstein, Long-Thibaud, and Queen Elisabeth competitions. Critics have highlighted his impeccable sense of style, intellectual and charismatic performance, and spacious and expressive sound palette.

The orchestra will be conducted by Kaspar Mänd, who has been a conductor of the Estonian National Opera for years and was elected principal conductor of the Pärnu City Orchestra at the beginning of 2019. He has formed collectives, such as Uue Tänava Orkester and the mixed choir HUIK!, who are both unique in the Estonian music scene. He has repeatedly collaborated with ENSO, been the principal conductor of the chamber choir Voces Musicales, and conducted at the Song Festival three times (in 2014, 2017, and 2019). In a recent interview, he described his relationship with conducting: ‘It is all about the music. I am not as much into conducting as I am into music.’ (Pärnu Postimees, 8 January 2019)