Susanna Mälkki conducts Berlioz and Elgar – With Alban Gerhardt

The great Finnish conductor of rising international fame Susanna Mälkki leads the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal in the opening concert of the 2018 Lanaudière Festival at the magnificent Fernand-Lindsay Amphitheater. The cellist Alban Gerhardt joins them as soloist for the beautiful beginning to the festival’s 41st season, whose romantic theme is “In love as in war”.

The program features two masterpieces by Berlioz: Roman Carnival and Symphonie fantastique, a work inspired by one of the most famous love stories of the 19th century, the composer’s mad love for the actress Harriet Smithson. One of the most beautiful and most romantic works of the cello repertoire, Elgar’s Cello Concerto in E minor completes the evening.

Photo: Susanna Mälkki © Simon Fowler
Alban Gerhardt appears by kind permission of Hyperion Records