South Florida Classical Review

Osmo Vänskä

The Finnish conductor Osmo Vänskä always brings excitement and unpredictability to his concerts,  which usually prove among the most memorable of the South Florida concert season.

A specialist in Sibelius, Vänskä  will lead the New World Symphony this weekend in two concerts that will include the composer’s Symphony No. 1–rarely heard here but full of memorable themes, with the windswept Northern power that animates Sibelius’ works. Vänskä’s recording of that symphony, along with the Sibelius Symphony No. 4, with his Minnesota Orchestra, won the 2014 Grammy award for best orchestral performance.

The program will be Nordic all the way. The first half will include the American pianist Garrick Ohlsson, whose father was Swedish, performing the Piano Concerto by the Norwegian Edvard Grieg.

The performances will be 7:30 p.m. Friday at New World Center in Miami Beach and 8 p.m. Saturday at the Arsht Center in Miami. The Arsht Center performance will also include the Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s Helios Overture. nws.edu; 305-673-3331.

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