Breaking Waves

Three works by three female composers from three different countries, each piece with its own unique style, are performed here by the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra under the baton of its dynamic conductor and artistic director Malin Broman: Three works that undoubtedly deserve a larger audience. "Sea Sketches" by Welsh composer Grace Williams is the opening piece. Inspired by the beaches of Glamorganshire and the seascape there, this five-part work seems to be in constant motion and development. You can literally taste the mist and feel the power of the waves. The second work is the "Fourth String Quartet" by Grazyna Bacewicz, here in an arrangement for string orchestra. Bacewicz was an important figure in the Polish music scene in the mid-20th century, and her quartet is very accessible - which undoubtedly contributed to it being her best-known work - with influences from folk music and passages that, according to Malin Broman, can only be described as heavenly. The "String Quartet" by Johanna Müller-Hermann, originally from Vienna, also in an arrangement for string orchestra, concludes the programme. This exciting, beautiful and powerful work with its post-romantic language is a testament to Vienna's heyday, when the music of Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss and their teacher Alexander von Zemlinsky dominated the musical world.