Helsinki Metropolitan Orchestra

Sten Lassmann, piano Sasha Mäkilä, conductor

Fri 8 August 2025 Temppeliaukio Church

Sat 9 August 2025 Järvenpää Church

Johannes Brahms:

Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 83

1. Allegro non troppo
2. Allegro appassionato
3. Andante
4. Allegretto grazioso – Un poco più presto

– – – Intermission – – –

Pyotr Tchaikovsky:

Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74 (“Pathétique”)

1. Adagio – Allegro non troppo
2. Allegro con grazia
3. Allegro molto vivace
4. Adagio lamentoso

A Greeting from the Piano Soloist

Brahms’s Second Piano Concerto is, in many ways, the Holy Grail for concert pianists—an undisputed pinnacle of the classical concerto repertoire. What elevates the work to this almost symbolic status is not only its exceptional length and technical brilliance, but also the astonishing breadth and richness of its dramatic scope.

Unlike any earlier piano concerto, this work adopts the four-movement structure of the classical symphony. Both in form and substance, it mirrors this most esteemed of genres. I have spent many years working with this “piano symphony,” and it is a great joy to bring it to life together with Maestro Mäkilä and the Helsinki Metropolitan Orchestra.

Sten Lassmann

Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840–1893): Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Op. 74, “Pathétique”

Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony became his swan song. The composer himself conducted its premiere on 28 October 1893, and just nine days later, he died following the rapid onset of a mysterious illness. His sudden death gave rise to various theories—one of the most persistent suggesting that he took his own life by drinking cholera-contaminated water in St. Petersburg.

When I studied conducting at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in the early 2000s, I too had to adapt to a daily life in which, for example, tap water was undrinkable due to bacteria and heavy metal content. These realities often brought Tchaikovsky’s fate to mind—especially since his symphonies, alongside those of Beethoven, formed the core of the conservatory’s conducting curriculum.

Tchaikovsky sketched the symphony in a burst of inspiration over the course of just three weeks in the spring of 1893. The orchestration, however, took much longer to complete, as the composer struggled with increasing self-criticism. Upon finishing the work, he wrote to his publisher Jurgenson:

“I can say with complete honesty that I have never felt so satisfied with myself, so proud, or so happy in the knowledge that I have created something truly good.”

The subtitle Pathétique, suggested in correspondence with his publisher, refers not to pity or weakness, but to the work’s expressive pathos—its profound emotion, passion, and tragic depth.

The first movement opens with a dark, mysterious atmosphere shaped by low strings and bassoons—reminiscent, in some ways, of Sibelius’s Fourth Symphony composed eighteen years later. A rising bassoon motif in the introduction develops into a moto perpetuo in the strings, leading into a tender melody derived from the same thematic material. In the contrapuntal climax, a brass chorale emerges, inspired by Orthodox liturgical music.

Tchaikovsky was a renowned composer of waltzes, featured in several of his symphonies, including the Third and Fifth. The second movement of the Sixth Symphony, written in an unusual 5/4 meter, evokes a waltz-like character—though, borrowing conductor Leif Segerstam’s vivid description, it is “the Elephant Man’s waltz,” where one of the poor cavalier’s legs is shorter than the other.

The third movement is a showcase of Tchaikovsky’s brilliance in building long-form development. Rapid triplets in the strings are soon joined by march-like figures—fragments of a “tin soldier’s march” that gradually swell to epic proportions. The momentum of this movement often inspires premature applause from audiences.

The finale is a deeply moving adagio, functioning almost as an epilogue. Its opening bars demonstrate masterful use of the concert hall’s acoustic space: the melody gently passes between the left and right sides of the orchestra, particularly effective if the first and second violins are seated antiphonally, as was customary in Tchaikovsky’s time.

This final movement is thought to have influenced the structure of Leevi Madetoja’s Second Symphony, which likewise ends not in triumph but in quiet resignation. As the symphony concludes, the music gradually recedes into the same whispered murmur of low strings with which it began—completing a haunting, fateful circle.

Sasha Mäkilä

Sten Lassmann, piano

Sten Lassmann is one of the most prominent Estonian classical pianists and has been regularly appearing as a soloist and chamber musician since winning first prize in the Sixth Estonian Piano Competition in 2002. He has performed all over the world, and in some of the most prestigious venues, such as the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, Southbank Centre in London, the Grand and Small Halls of the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow, the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatoire Concert Hall in Milan and the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing. Lassmann has toured Beethoven’s Fifth Concerto and Prokofiev’s Second Concerto with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and played the Estonian premiere of James Macmillan’s Second Concerto with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. As a recording artist, featured on thirteen albums so far, Lassmann has focused on Estonian classical heritage. He made the first-ever recording of complete piano works by Heino Eller for Toccata Classics in London, submitting all 206 piano compositions by the founder of Estonian national instrumental music on nine discs between 2011 and 2023. 2024 saw the publication of Estonian Cello (Toccata Next, London) with the cellist Valle-Rasmus Roots, and Ester Mägi Complete Songs (Toccata Classics, London) in collaboration with mezzo-soprano Maarja Purga. In June this year, a major new recording series was launched with Artur Lemba: Complete Chamber Music – Volume One, Music for violin and piano (Toccata Classics) where Lassmann partners with violinist Triin Ruubel.

Sten Lassmann started his musical education at the Tallinn Central Music School in 1989 and continued at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre with prof. Ivari Ilja. He also studied at the Paris Conservatoire (CNSMDP) with prof. Brigitte Engerer and at the Royal Academy of Music in London with Ian Fountain. A major pianistic influence also comes from his father Peep Lassmann, an esteemed professor of piano at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and a former student of Emil Gilels at the Moscow Conservatoire. In 2013 Sten Lassmann was awarded PhD at the Royal Academy of Music in London for his research on the Estonian composer Heino Eller. He has also received the Heino Eller Music Prize (2011), the Estonian Cultural Endowment annual music prize (2015, 2021), and in 2018 was elected Associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM). Lassmann᾿s final volume of Heino Eller᾿s Complete Piano Works was awarded the Best Classical Album at the Estonian Music Awards 2024. He is currently senior lecturer of piano at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.

Sasha Mäkilä, conductor

Finnish conductor Sasha Mäkilä has made a name for himself as a versatile artist with a broad repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary. Sasha Mäkilä’s conducting career has taken him to four continents and to major ensembles, focusing his visits on Asia and Eastern Europe. He has also worked with the Finnish National Ballet and the Savonlinna Opera Festival.

Mäkilä studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy, at the St. Petersburg State Conservatory and at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen. Originally a cellist, he has also studied cello at the Helsinki Conservatory and musicology at the University of Helsinki. Mäkilä has served as assistant conductor at the Cleveland Orchestra in the United States and to Kurt Masur at Orchestre National de France. Currently, Sasha Mäkilä is the Artistic Director of the Helsinki Metropolitan Orchestra and a visiting researcher at the University of the Arts Helsinki.

Helsinki Metropolitan Orchestra

The Helsinki Metropolitan Orchestra (HMO) was born in July 2017 when 70 musicians joined forces one evening and organized a symphony concert in the Temppeliaukio Church. The Rachmaninov and Sibelius performances conducted by Sasha Mäkilä along with Alina Sorjonen’s skillful piano playing elevated the atmosphere to new heights. The new orchestra’s calendar was soon filled with upcoming concerts.

During the eight years of operation, HMO has established its position in the musical life of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The orchestra has also performed major church music works in collaboration with choirs such as Suomen Laulu and Viva Vox. Over the years, HMO has also served as an opera orchestra in Giuseppe Verdi’s Rigoletto and Fredrik Pacius’s King Charles’ Hunt. The orchestra’s activities include training new conductors through annual masterclass courses and inviting young talented musicians as soloists. In addition to numerous domestic performances, the orchestra embarked on an extensive tour of China, culminating in Shanghai, during the turn of the year 2018-2019.

Upcoming Concerts of the Helsinki Metropolitan Orchestra:

1. A. Mozart: Requiem

Helsinki Metropolitan Orchestra and Suomen Laulu

Conductor: Sasha Mäkilä

Soloists: Iris Candelaria, Elli Vallinoja, Tuomas Miettola, and Sakari Topi

Sunday, 2 November 2025 at 6:30 PM and 8:30 PM

Temppeliaukio Church, Helsinki

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