Israeli harpist Sivan Magen performs as concerto soloist with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (FRSO) on its latest album featuring works by Finnish composer Lotta Wennäkoski. This is the orchestra’s second recording on Ondine Records that features her works. Premiered in 2022, the harp concerto Sigla was written for Magen, the FRSO’s principal harpist. Under its new chief conductor Nicholas Collon, the orchestra also recorded Wennäkoski’s work Flounce, a brisk scherzo premiered at the BBC Last Night of the Proms, and her orchestral triptych Sedecim, which commemorates the centenary of the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra’s founding in 1916.
The title of Wennäkoski’s harp concerto, Sigla, has different meanings in different languages. In Italian, it means a jingle; in Icelandic, it means sailing; and in Tagalog, it means vivaciousness or enthusiasm. Wennäkoski says while each part of the music does not necessarily correlate with a specific meaning, listeners may hear ways that the music reflects the multiple meanings of the word.
Magen has been principal harpist in the FRSO since autumn 2017. Magen studied the harp in his native Jerusalem, at the Paris Conservatory, and the Juilliard School of Music in New York. In 2006, he became the first (and so far only) Israeli to win the International Harp Contest in Israel. Check out our interview after his win in the January/February 2007 issue of Harp Column.
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra is the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle), and its mission is to produce and promote Finnish musical culture. British conductor Nicholas Collon has led the orchestra since autumn 2021.
To learn more, view the album on Ondine Records.
