Orchestra of the Finnish National Opera, Conor Mitchell: Riot Symphony

Helsinki Music Centre, Concert Hall
Thu 20.8.2026  19:00

Duration: approx. 1h 40min, interval

Orchestra of the Finnish National Opera
Andrew Gourlay, conductor

Aurora Marthens, soprano
Ric Furman, tenor

Nicky Larkin, video design

In co-operation with: Belfast Ensemble

Richard Strauss: Metamorphosen
Conor Mitchell: Riot Symphony

Sketching for Metamorphosen began in 1944, and the work was completed the following year in the aftermath of the destruction of Dresden. The music depicts the decline of civilization into primitivism. Written for an unusual ensemble of 23 solo strings, this single-movement, extensive study explores the transformation of closely related motifs.

The work is Richard Strauss’s lamentation over the devastation of German cities and cultural life during the Second World War. Strauss served as the president of the Reich Music Chamber under the Nazi regime prior to the war in an effort to advance the professional interests of composers, drawing criticism both for collaborating with the Nazis and for his sympathies toward Jewish colleagues. Strauss considered himself apolitical, stating that he judged people solely by their talent rather than their political convictions.

Metamorphosen marks a major shift in Strauss’s musical language. In his final compositions, Strauss adopted an austerely stark and introspective style in place of his earlier exuberant, brilliant manner.

The work is dominated by a lush, polyphonically rich string sound. The music flows forward in sweeping arcs that build into passionate surges. Strauss takes a stand on the destruction of German culture most explicitly by frequently quoting the characteristic descending motif from the funeral march of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony. The funeral march appears again in its entirety in the work’s closing bars.

Before her execution on February 22, 1943, the 21-year-old German activist Sophie Scholl uttered: “The sun still shines.” In her final words, she still wished to catch a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel.

In Munich, Scholl founded the underground White Rose movement, which urged resistance against the Nazi regime and the genocide of the Jewish people. Arrested by the Gestapo, the young members of the group remained steadfast in their convictions to the end.

Scholl’s story inspired the recent Riot Symphony by Belfast-born composer Conor Mitchell (b. 1977). Premiered in May 2024, this roaring, relentlessly energetic work combines music, video installations, and text from both Scholl and the Russian punk group Pussy Riot.

Political protest in music has a long history. Among major composers, Giuseppe Verdi, Hans Werner Henze, Luigi Nono, Michael Tippett, and John Adams have all taken a stand in their works and brought contemporary issues into social discourse—not forgetting Sibelius and his Finlandia. The band Pussy Riot aims for the same through defiance and self-assurance, advocating for equality and opposing Russia’s war of aggression.

Conor Mitchell explains how he was moved by the determination of activists such as Pussy Riot, Sophie Scholl, rebellious pop icon Sinéad O’Connor, and steadfast Greta Thunberg: “I want to capture the electric spirit that I felt when I was sixteen, and which was also evident in the 1968 Paris student riots.”

“Russian protest punk isn’t the first thing that comes to mind with the term ‘symphony’. But the idea is the same: make your art a weapon. The first 20 minutes of Riot Symphony are bright and energetic. After that, the symphony shifts into a feverish, almost supercharged rhythm. Pussy Riot’s Russian vocals echo over the orchestra. It is an orchestral interpretation of the song Putin Lights Up the Fire (2012). The Ukrainian national anthem fits neatly over it.”

“Perhaps this symphony itself is not a protest, but above all a homage to those who have raised their voices under the most difficult circumstances and proven themselves to be right.”

Text: Pekka Miettinen

More information about the concert series:
During the 2026–2027 season, the Music Centre will once again host a series of three concerts, featuring world-renowned guest stars as soloists and conductors for the Orchestra of the Finnish National Opera.

Conor Mitchell »
Orchestra of the Finnish National Opera »
Andrew Gourlay »
Aurora Marthens »
Ric Furman »
Nicky Larkin »