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Ahead of tonight’s performance of Finnish and French music from the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Concert Orchestra – which marks the end of Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Radio 3’s residency at Southbank Centre – we speak to Principal Guest Conductor Anna-Maria Helsing about the programme she helped devise.

In this programme you’ve drawn together mostly French and Finnish pieces. What attracted you to this idea?

I think it was the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Concert Orchestra that suggested we do Poulenc’s Sinfonietta – a great piece by the way – and from there we built this programme together. As for the selection of Debussy and Sibelius songs, I discussed this directly with the soprano Anu Komsi: I basically gave her the freedom to pick her favourites of French and Finnish songs. As I am a strong advocate of contemporary music, I am particularly happy about bringing the Sebastian Fagerlund, Jimmy López and Heta Aho pieces to the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Concert Orchestra, and to the radio audience of this concert. I think that these form a fine complement to the older, better-known Romantic French music in the programme.

How does Jimmy López’s piece fit into this, with the influences of Latin-American, Afro-Peruvian and pop music?

Jimmy López actually studied composition at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki for quite a few years, so I like to think of him as a Peruvian-American-Finnish composer! I have conducted this piece many times, both in this version for smaller orchestra and the one for bigger, symphony orchestra, and it is great fun for both the players and the audience. It is not every day we get to play techno music that is skilfully composed for the symphony orchestra and I think that, in these challenging times, we all need the sparkling joy of dance music that this ‘Fiesta’ brings!

Another thing we don't often hear are orchestral songs by Debussy and Sibelius …

It is thanks to my fellow Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo and his fine arrangements that we get to hear these songs with orchestral accompaniment, as they were all originally composed for voice and piano. Although the songs for this reason don’t feature in the standard orchestral repertoire, I am sure that listeners will recognise the soundscape of both composers. At least the Sibelius song ‘Höstkväll’ (Autumn Evening) is for me very recognisably Sibelius, right from the opening bars.

Is working with British orchestras different to working with orchestras in Finland or elsewhere?

Not really. I find that people everywhere have more in common than they have differences. I have come to really appreciate the British people’s great sense of humour as well as the efficiency of the musicians here. These players are able to learn new, difficult programmes in a very short time. The development between one rehearsal to the other is quite significant. And still, in the process of hard work, there is always time for a good laugh!

How has it been working with the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Concert Orchestra in your first months as its Principal Guest Conductor?

For obvious reasons (the pandemic), we haven’t been able to meet since February, when I had my last concert with the orchestra. Still, this is already my fifth concert with these musicians. I must say that I love their ability to adapt very quickly and skilfully to any style of music. In February, I had them playing folk music from my home village in Ostrobothnia (western Finland), and I know that they will dive into this programme with the same enthusiasm.

What kinds of music or programming would you like to explore in your future concerts with the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú CO?

I am known for loving contemporary music, but that doesn't exclude repertoire from, let’s say, the Romantic period. I am just really in love with the sound of the symphony orchestra and in finding ways to make every musician want to give their absolute best. The most important thing for me is to keep exploring, putting interesting programmes together, showing the listeners all this great music they maybe weren’t yet aware of and that I hope they’ll love.