Programmes

Baltic Sea Philharmonic—Nutcracker Reimagined

A fantastic reimagining of Tchaikovsky’s beloved The Nutcracker that completely reinvents the classical music concert experience, with innovative founder-conductor Kristjan Järvi and the mind-blowing Baltic Sea Philharmonic taking us on a magical voyage of musical discovery. A visit to the concert hall has never been so much fun!

More Details

Baltic Sea Philharmonic—Nutcracker Reimagined

More Details

The 52nd HK Arts Festival

2023.10.27

Reimagining the Wonderland of The Nutcracker

Text / Adam Wright

Nutcracker Reimagined might seem to contrast with the other Baltic Sea Philharmonic programme coming to the 52nd Hong Kong Arts Festival—the heavy metal-inspired performance Bright & Black—but conductor Kristjan Järvi doesn't draw any distinction between the two.

"It deals with the same expression of wonder and amazement at the childlike beauty that resides within us all. And The Nutcracker is an iconic example of what many composers basically enact into music, those things that we cannot say verbally," he tells FestMag.

In Nutcracker Reimagined, Järvi has interlaced Tchaikovsky's Christmas classic with additional music by Grieg, Elgar, Arvo Pärt and the conductor himself. "If you didn't know, you would think Tchaikovsky wrote all of it," Järvi says. "But it all fits completely into the realm of Tchaikovsky because we are constructing a story focusing on the idea of a wonderland."

The programme promises to be a magical night full of musical discovery and the audience can expect some of the Baltic Sea Philharmonic's signature improvisation throughout Nutcracker Reimagined. "If we decide to reorchestrate on the fly or improvise, this is good because we trust the energy of that moment to take us to the right place and guide us with a certain energetic flow rather than a strategy of the mind."