Prophecy Ksenija Sidorova, Estonian Festival Orchestra & Paavo Järvi

• Erkki-Sven Tüür (b. 1959): Prophecy:
• 1 Tüür: Prophecy 20:33
• Tõnu Kõrvits (b. 1969): Dances:
• 2 Kõrvits: Dances: No. 1, Darkness (Cadenza). Under the Cajun Moon 06:27
• 3 Kõrvits: Dances: No. 2, Passacaglia 04:26
• 4 Kõrvits: Dances: No. 3, Siciliana 04:13
• 5 Kõrvits: Dances: No. 4, Sarabande 03:30
• Pēteris Vasks (b. 1946): The Fruit of Silence (Arr. for Accordion, Vibraphone and String Orchestra by George Morton):
• 6 Vasks: The Fruit of Silence (Arr. for Accordion, Vibraphone and String Orchestra by George Morton) 05:41
• Total Runtime 44:50

Info for Prophecy

Mit diesen Werken für Akkordeon und Orchester huldigen Ksenija Sidorova und Paavo Järvi der Musik der baltischen Länder: Die Lettin und der Este, die seit über 10 Jahren zusammenarbeiten, haben in Pärnu mit dem von Paavo gegründeten Festivalorchester aufgenommen – einem Luxus-Ensemble aus den besten Musikern der größten europäischen Orchester. Das 2007 komponierte Konzert "Prophecy" von Erkki-Sven Tüür beschäftigt sich mit dem Konzept des Sehers, einer Person, die die Zukunft sehen kann, aber oft von der Gesellschaft verachtet wird, in der sie lebt. Das Konzert nutzt die volle Kraft und Bandbreite des Sinfonieorchesters in völliger Verschmelzung mit der Solistin: „Es ist das technisch komplizierteste Werk, das ich je gespielt habe!“, sagt Ksenija. Das Konzert "Dances" eines weiteren estnischen Komponisten, Tõnu Kõrvits, wurde für Sidorova geschrieben und 2024 in Pärnu uraufgeführt. Der Komponist wollte sich ganz in das Akkordeon vertiefen, um sein Werk zu schreiben, und lernte sogar selbst, es zu spielen… er entlockte dem Instrument einige bislang ungehörte Klänge. "The Fruit of Silence" stammt von Ksenijas Landsmann Pēteris Vasks. Er bearbeitete eines seiner Stücke für Chor und Klavier, das auf Worten von Mutter Teresa basiert.

Ksenija Sidorova, Akkordeon
Estonian Festival Orchestra
Paavo Järvi, Dirigent

Ksenija Sidorova
Praised as “revelatory” (The Telegraph) and playing with “verve, style, attitude and impeccable virtuosity” (ZealNYC), Ksenija Sidorova is the world’s undisputed leading ambassador for the classical accordion. Ksenija’s charismatic performances showcase not only her instrument’s unique capabilities but also her own intense passion and breathtaking skill.

Sidorova’s repertoire spans over three centuries from J.S. Bach, Astor Piazzolla, Erkki-Sven Tüür and Václav Trojan. A passionate advocate of new music, several accordion works have been composed especially for her, including Tõnu Kõrvits’s Dances with Paavo Järvi and his Estonian Festival Orchestra at the Pärnu Festival, Sergey Akhunov’s Chaconne with the Riga Sinfonietta and London Chamber Orchestra, and Arturs Maskats’s Accordion Concerto with Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. 24/25 will feature a new concerto by Dobrinka Tabakova, with performances with Stuttgart Philharmoniker at the Bodensee Festival, being Artist-in-Residence at the latter, with Latvian National Symphony Orchestra at the Jurmala Riga Festival and Sofia Philharmonic.

Orchestral highlights from previous seasons include Münchner Philharmoniker, BBC Symphony, Orchestre National de France, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, Atlanta Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg. In the 2024/25 season, Sidorova performs with Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, Turku Philharmonic, Liepāja Symphony Orchestra, Gavle Symphony Orchestra and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. She maintains long-standing working relationships with eminent conductors such as Paavo Järvi, Thomas Hengelbrock and Vasily Petrenko, and also with Krzysztof Urbański, Andris Poga, Kirill Karabits, Christian Reif and Nil Venditti.

An active chamber musician, her collaborators include Nemanja Radulović, Andreas Ottensamer, Goldmund Quartet, Camille Thomas, Tine Thing Helseth, Juan Diego Flórez and Nicola Benedetti. Ksenija is a regular guest performer at the Ravinia, Cheltenham, Mostly Mozart, Schleswig-Holstein, MISA, Gstaad Menuhin, MITO, Verbier and Rheingau music festivals. This season, Sidorova performs recitals with baritone Thomas Hampson in Tonhalle Zurich, Beethovenhaus Bonn and Amsterdam Concertgebouw, as well as recitals with Avi Avital, and the Signum Saxophone Quartet.

Her latest release Crossroads (Alpha, 2024) features Chaconne by Sergey Akhunov, alongside J.S. Bach D minor concerto, Dobrinka Tabakova's Horizons and Gabriela Montero's Beyond Bach. Her album Piazzolla Reflections (Alpha, 2021), was acclaimed as “brilliantly played [and] beautifully recorded” (Gramophone), numbered among the best new classical albums of the year (Classic Review), and was named BR Klassik’s album of the month. This follows previous successful releases: Arturs Maskats’ accordion concerto (Ondine, 2023) with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and Andris Poga; Classical Accordion (Champs Hill Records, 2011); Fairy Tales (Champs Hill Records, 2013) recorded with BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Rundell; and Carmen (Deutsche Grammophon, 2016) for which she won the ECHO prize for Instrumentalist of the Year in 2017.

Encouraged by her grandmother, herself steeped in the folk tradition of accordion playing, Ksenija started to play the instrument at the age of six under the guidance of Marija Gasele in her hometown of Riga. Her unfettered interest in classical and contemporary repertoire took her to the Royal Academy of Music, London, where she became a prize-winning undergraduate and postgraduate studying under Owen Murray. In May 2012, she became the first International Award winner of the Bryn Terfel Foundation and appeared at the Royal Albert Hall in October 2015 as part of his 50th birthday celebrations, alongside Sting. She is a recipient of Philharmonia Orchestra’s Martin Musical Scholarship and Friends of the Philharmonia Award, as well as the Worshipful Company of Musicians Silver Medal. Ksenija has been an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music since 2016 and was made a Fellow (FRAM) in 2021.

Booklet for Prophecy