Riddarhuset 400 Years: A Saga

Riddarhuset celebrates its 400th anniversary with a concert series. The second instalment focuses on 19th-century music - the century when Riddarhuset was built.

The programme features three composers whose paths crossed through Helsinki. German cellist Bernhard Romberg (1767-1841) toured across Europe to the Russian Empire, and his symphonies were also performed in Helsinki at the Academic Music Society's concerts. Crusell (1775-1838) conducted his main work in Stockholm but declared himself Finnish in a letter to Johann Ludvig Runeberg in his later years; during his travels he met Meyerbeer, Weber and Mendelssohn, and played in the Stockholm court orchestra when Fredrik Pacius began there as first violinist. Sibelius's (1865-1957) "En saga" represents the composer's early symbolist period - Sibelius himself described the work as profoundly Finnish.

Performers: Pauliina Fred (flute), Lorenzo Coppola (clarinet) and FiBO Players. Programme planning: Irma Niskanen.

Concert 17.9.2026, 19.00-20.45, includes an interval. Tickets 15-52 € from Ticketmaster. Music journalist Risto Nordell introduces the concert 18.00-18.30. Walking tour of Kruununhaka with city guide and author Juhani Styrman 17.00-17.50; accessible, tickets 0/15 €, advance registration required.