THOMAS SØNDERGÅRD LEADS MINNESOTA ORCHESTRA IN SECOND ANNUAL NORDIC SOUNDSCAPES FESTIVAL, January 3 - 17
Programs explore northern Europe’s orchestral music of past and present; pre-concert extras include performances from Nordic partner organizations, outdoor firepits, Scandinavian treats and spirits
January 3 concert, Bartók X Björk, synthesizes Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra with music from the Icelandic superstar
January 8-9 performances feature James Ehnes in the Sibelius Violin Concerto, as well as Salonen’s Nyx and Nielsen’s First Symphony; Ehnes returns for a January 10 chamber music program with Minnesota Orchestra musicians
January 16-17 concerts spotlight soprano Lauren Snouffer in Hans Abrahamsen’s Let me tell you and Sibelius’ First Symphony, among other works
As January temperatures plunge, Minneapolis’ Orchestra Hall will radiate light, warmth and music as part of the Minnesota Orchestra’s second Nordic Soundscapes Festival, running from January 3-17. Led by Music Director Thomas Søndergård, the festival will explore the music of Nordic artists from Björk to Sibelius and Salonen to Nielsen, while audiences dive into an immersive sampling of lobby activities spotlighting Scandinavian culture, cuisine, cocktails and crafts.
The festival opens on Saturday, January 3 at 7 p.m. with an inventive program conducted by Steve Hackman that synthesizes Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra with music from Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk’s first three albums, spotlighting three vocalists with the Orchestra.
The following weekend, January 8 at 11 a.m. and January 9 at 8 p.m., Søndergård takes the podium to conduct James Ehnes in the haunting Sibelius Violin Concerto, bookended by Esa-Pekka Salonen’s silvery tone poem Nyx and Carl Nielsen’s First Symphony. The weekend is capped by a chamber music program on Saturday, January 10, at 7 p.m., in which James Ehnes will join Minnesota Orchestra musicians in Sibelius’ String Quartet in D minor. Musicians will also perform Laura Valborg Aulin’s String Quartet No. 1 in F major and Otto Mortensen’s Quintette for Winds.
In the final weekend of the festival, on Friday, January 16 at 8 p.m., and Saturday, January 17 at 7 p.m., American soprano Lauren Snouffer performs Hans Abrahamsen’s song cycle Let me tell you, a retelling of Hamlet from Ophelia’s perspective, while Thomas Søndergård conducts Wilhelm Stenhammar’s Excelsior! and Sibelius’ First Symphony.
Concertgoers are invited to arrive early to Orchestra Hall throughout the festival to enjoy a winter sanctuary of activities celebrating Nordic culture, cuisine, cocktails and crafts. The outdoor Cargill Commons will be outfitted with firepits and seating options. The indoor Target Atrium will transform into a Nordic Soundscapes lounge and Marketplace with food, beverages and wares from Krown Bakery, Ingebretsen’s, Vikre Distillery and Danish Teak. Throughout the lobby, Nordic partner organizations—including the American Swedish Institute, Danish American Center, FinnFest USA, Icelandic Hekla Club, Museum of Danish America and Norway House—will showcase their organizations and offer craft demonstrations and free performances of folk and choral music traditions. (See calendar listing for details.)
STEVE HACKMAN’S BARTÓK X BJÖRK
(January 3, 2026)
Conductor Steve Hackman leads an exploration of the avant-garde and adventurous in this program that synthesizes the music of two of the 20th century’s most ingenious musicians: Iceland’s Björk and Hungary’s Bartók, each thrilling rulebreakers in their genres. Béla Bartók’s dynamic Concerto for Orchestra is fused with music from Björk’s first three albums, including songs like “Human Behaviour,” “Hyperballad” and “Army of Me.” The Orchestra will be joined by vocal soloists Erin Bentlage, India Carney and Malia Civetz.
A composer, conductor, arranger and producer, Steve Hackman is known for creating innovative orchestral fusions, merging the music of Brahms and Radiohead, or Mahler and Notorious B.I.G and Tupac Shakur.
SØNDERGÅRD AND EHNES
(January 8-9, 2026)
It was an episode of Sesame Street featuring violinist Itzhak Perlman that sparked James Ehnes’ interest in the violin as a child growing up in Canada. He started the instrument at age 4 and by 13 was performing with the Montreal Symphony. Today, as he embarks on a 50th birthday recital tour, he is a Grammy Award-winner who was named Gramophone’s Artist of the Year in 2021. Performing regularly with the Minnesota Orchestra since 1993, Ehnes returns in these concerts with a pillar of the violin repertoire that he has never played at Orchestra Hall: Sibelius’ vast Violin Concerto written in 1903. Ehnes’ performance of the work—which he recorded in 2024 with the Bergen Philharmonic—has been described by Gramophone as “all poetry and refinement,” and by The Guardian as “Ehnes at his sublime best.”
Thomas Søndergård bookends the program with two pivotal pieces from Nordic composers writing more than a century apart. Finland’s Esa-Pekka Salonen wrote Nyx in 2011 and scored it for a very large orchestra. Named after an elusive goddess in Greek mythology, the work is his attempt “to write complex counterpoint for almost one hundred musicians playing. . . at full throttle without losing clarity. Not an easy task but a fascinating one,” he said. Denmark’s Carl Nielsen wrote his First Symphony in 1891 when he was a second violinist with Royal Danish Orchestra National. A critic at the work’s premiere in Copenhagen noted Nielsen’s immense potential, writing that the work “seems to presage a coming storm of genius” and describing it as “unsettled and brutal . . . and yet nevertheless so wonderfully innocent and unknowing, as if seeing a child playing with dynamite.”
SØNDERGÅRD CONDUCTS SIBELIUS
(January 16-17, 2026)—
In the concluding week of the festival, Søndergård conducts a program encompassing a lesser-known historical gem, a stunning modern-day song cycle and a first symphony that bore its creator’s distinctive sound. Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar was one of the pre-eminent Scandinavian composers and pianists of his time, but his work never achieved the international stature of his Nordic contemporaries Grieg, Nielsen or Sibelius. His Excelsior!, which bursts with urgency and drama, premiered as a concert overture in 1896.
Contemporary Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen’s Let me tell you is based on a book of the same name by Paul Griffiths. A retelling of Hamlet from Ophelia’s perspective, the work uses only the 481 word vocabulary given to Ophelia by Shakespeare. Premiered by the Berlin Philharmonic, the vocal-orchestral work was called “a spellbindingly beautiful song cycle” by The Guardian and won Abrahamsen the prestigious Grawemayer Award in 2016. Grammy Award-nominated American soprano Lauren Snouffer makes her Minnesota Orchestra debut in the work.
Finnish composer Jean Sibelius was 34 years old when he completed his First Symphony in 1899. He was deeply influenced by Tchaikovsky, whose Pathétique Symphony was performed in Helsinki in the 1890s, but Sibelius’ early symphony still resonates with the distinguishing hallmarks that would eventually earn him a reputation as one of the most significant symphonists of his time. These performances mark Thomas Søndergård’s first time conducting a Sibelius symphony with the Minnesota Orchestra.
About Thomas Søndergård
Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård began his tenure as the 11th music director of the Minnesota Orchestra in the 2023-24 season. A highly regarded conductor in both the orchestral and opera spheres, he has earned a reputation for incisive interpretations of works by composers from his native Denmark, a great versatility in a broad range of standard and modern repertoire, and a collaborative approach with the musicians he leads. His spring engagements in Minneapolis include an opera-in-concert performance of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle with Michelle DeYoung and John Lundgren; performances of Peter Lieberson’s Neruda Songs with mezzo Jamie Barton; and Listening Project performances highlighting underrepresented works in the repertoire with another top American vocal talent, Janai Brugger. More: minnesotaorchestra.org.
About the Minnesota Orchestra
Founded in 1903, the Grammy Award-winning Minnesota Orchestra is known for acclaimed performances in its home state and around the world; award-winning educational programs; and a commitment to building the orchestral repertoire of tomorrow, all based on the belief that music is for everyone. Each year, Minnesota Orchestra concerts and recordings are seen and heard by more than 2.5 million people via television, radio, digital streaming, and on-demand platforms. Led by Music Director Thomas Søndergård, the Orchestra makes its home in the heart of downtown Minneapolis at Orchestra Hall, a venue renowned for its brilliant acoustics and modern design that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.
Nordic Soundscapes Festival
STEVE HACKMAN’S BARTÓK X BJÖRK
Saturday, January 3, 2026, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Steve Hackman, conductor and creator
Erin Bentlage, vocalist
India Carney, vocalist
Malia Civetz, vocalist
Conductor Steve Hackman leads an inventive program that infuses Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra with the music of Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk.
Tickets: $15-$115
Pre-concert Activities:
Jan 3, 6:30 pm Danish folk music by Niels Billund and Rolf Krogstad; Nordic paper cutting with Sonja Peterson, presented by the Danish American Center, Minneapolis
Food and beverages from Krown Bakery and Vikre Distillery. Explore the Nordic Soundscapes Marketplace.
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Nordic Soundscapes Festival
SØNDERGÅRD AND EHNES
Thursday, January 8, 2026, 11 a.m. / Orchestra Hall
Friday, January 9, 2026, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
James Ehnes, violin
SALONEN Nyx
SIBELIUS Violin Concerto
NIELSEN Symphony No. 1
Tickets: $15-$120 (Free tickets available for young listeners age 6-18 with Hall Pass).
Pre-concert Activities:
Jan 8, 9:30 am Traditional Norwegian music on the Hardanger Fiddle by Sarah Pradt; the Norwegian craft of Skinnfell with Rebecca Utecht and Sue Flanders; and Lego building with the Museum of Danish America, Elk Horn, IA
Jan 9, 6:30 pm Performance of Finnish music with the SF100 Choir; Finnish culture presentations by the Finlandia Foundation and FinnFest
Food and beverages from O&H Danish Bakery (1/8), Krown Bakery and Vikre Distillery. Explore the Nordic Soundscapes Marketplace.
Nordic Soundscapes Festival
CHAMBER MUSIC IN THE HALL WITH JAMES EHNES
Saturday, January 10, 2026, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra
James Ehnes, violin
AULIN String Quartet in F major
MORTENSEN Quintette for Winds
SIBELIUS String Quartet in D minor, Voces intimae
Tickets: Choose Your Price, starting at $5 (Free tickets available for young listeners age 6-18 with Hall Pass).
Pre-concert Activities:
Jan 10, 6:15 pm Nordic Voices with the Blake Chamber Orchestra; Nordic woodworking, presented in partnership with Norway House, Minneapolis
Food and beverages from Krown Bakery and Vikre Distillery. Explore the Nordic Soundscapes Marketplace.
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Nordic Soundscapes Festival
SØNDERGÅRD CONDUCTS SIBELIUS
Friday, January 16, 2026, 8 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Saturday, January 17, 2026, 7 p.m. / Orchestra Hall
Minnesota Orchestra
Thomas Søndergård, conductor
Lauren Snouffer, soprano
STENHAMMER Excelsior!
ABRAHAMSEN Let me tell you
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 1
Tickets: $15-$110 (Free tickets available for young listeners age 6-18 with Hall Pass).
Pre-concert Activities:
Jan 16, 6:30 pm Music by the MacPhail Northside Youth Orchestra; Icelandic costumes and embroidery, knitted lace and Icelandic yarn presented by the Icelandic Hekla Club of Minneapolis
Jan 17, 5:30 pm Renee Vaughan (nyckelharpa) and Paul Sauey (guitar) share traditional Swedish folk music with a sprinkle of tunes from Denmark, Norway and Finland. Viking Posament knotting and Norwegian filigree jewelry derive from traditional bunad silver traditions with Liz Bucheit. Presented in partnership with the American Swedish Institute, Minneapolis
Jan 17, post concert Mingle with musicians onstage after the performance
Food and beverages from Krown Bakery and Vikre Distillery. Explore the Nordic Soundscapes Marketplace.
TICKET PURCHASING INFORMATION
Tickets and subscription packages can be purchased now at minnesotaorchestra.org
or by calling 612-371-5656. For groups of 10 or more, call 612-371-5662.
The 2025-2026 Classical Season is presented by Ameriprise Financial.
Additional support for the Nordic Soundscapes Festival is provided by the Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation.
The Chamber Music series is made possible by Dr. Jennine and her late husband, John Speier.
The Hall Pass program makes free tickets available for young listeners ages 6 to 18 for select Classical concerts, and all kids under 18 for Family concerts. The program is sponsored by Cynthia and Jay Ihlenfeld. For more: minnesotaorchestra.org/hallpass
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
All programs, artists, dates, times and prices subject to change.
PRESS CONTACTS
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