Hanko Soi Spring Concert, April 6, 2026

"Hanko Soi" Concert Series: "To Freedom"

A Concert for Spring and Easter: "
" Monday, April 6, at 2:00 p.m. in the Banquet Hall of Hanko City Hall.

Beethoven’s expansive and luminous Violin Concerto enchants with its soulful pastoral melodies and contemplative melancholy, but also with its powerful sense of determination. The work concludes with an uplifting sense of universal liberation. Beethoven has been regarded as one of the loneliest figures in music history, and the composer, who enjoyed walks in nature, once said he loved “trees more than people.” It is astonishing how much light and humanity the reclusive Beethoven managed to infuse into his only violin concerto.

Before embarking on this journey with Beethoven, however, the concert opens with “Castillo interior,” a duo for violin and cello by the Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks. The stripped-down and honest musical language draws parallels with the 16th-century nun Teresa of Ávila’s descriptions of the human soul as a castle containing many different “rooms.” In the rooms of composer Vasks’s “inner castle,” we hear vulnerability, weariness, pain, and questions, but ultimately also a deep sense of peace. From there, it is a natural transition to the lightness of spring in the company of Beethoven.

Peteris Vasks: Inner Castle

Ludwig van Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D major, "
" (arr. C. Hinde for violin and string quintet)

Knuut Nissinen, violin soloist
Martin Granström and Lorenzo Pap, violin
Arttu Nummela, viola
Matti Skyttä, cello
Vilhelm Karlsson, double bass

Duration: approx. 55 min

Admission at the door: €20/€15
€15/€13 for Hanko soi members
(MobilePay, card, cash)