Pietari Inkinen conducts the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie in two concerts in Saarbrücken (Congresshalle) and Frankfurt (Alte Oper) on February 14 and 16, respectively. The program, titled “So süßes Leid” (“Such Sweet Suffering”), features Sergey Rachmaninov’s “Die Toteninsel,” a tone poem inspired by Arnold Böcklin, Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, featuring soloist Augustin Hadelich, and Sergey Prokofiev’s “Romeo and Juliet,” with excerpts from the ballet suites No. 1-3 compiled by Inkinen himself.

The Finnish conductor has long championed the three Russian composers’ opus. His magistral reading of Tchaikovsky’s “Symphony No. 5” with the KBS, recently released on the Warner Classics label, has been favorably reviewed.

[Photo: Kaupo Kikkas]