A Night of Varied and Compelling Emotions: BSO Presents Tarkiainen’s ‘Day Night Day,’ Mozart, and Sibelius

On April 4, the Boston Symphony Orchestra performed the American premiere of Outi Tarkiainen’s composition “Day Night Day,” followed by Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1. The three pieces gave the audience a journey from Tarkiainen’s atmospheric piece, to Mao Fujita’s gentle and graceful playing, ending with the thunderous swells of Sibelius.

Finnish composer Tarkianien’s music has been performed by the Berlin Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Houston Symphony Orchestra, and the Helsinki Philharmonic. In her new composition “Day Night Day” — which first premiered in Berlin in April 2025 — Tarkiainen drew on the colors of the northern lights and melodies of the Sámi people, who inhabit the Sápmi region. This region is just 40 miles away from the Arctic circle, meaning its residents can regularly see the northern lights.

Natural elements are prevalent in Tarkiainen’s haunting and memorable work. During “Day Night Day,” percussion added whispering phrases that sounded like a cold wind, resulting in an ominous and mysterious feeling. Tremolo in the strings led up to a climax in the piece, before mellowing gently. Though it was a short, single-movement work, the calm resolution — mirroring the muted tones at the beginning — lent “Day Night Day” a cyclical structure.

In the next piece, Fujita gave a graceful delivery of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21. Fujita was the winner of the Clara Haskil Piano Competition in 2017, as well as the silver medalist at the 2019 Tchaikovsky Piano Competition. His talent shone in his rendition of Mozart, demonstrating his versatility through both Tchaikovsky’s romantic compositions and Mozart’s classical ones.

In the first movement of the concerto, there were playful exchanges of melodies between the piano and various sections of the orchestra. Fujita’s facial expressions were full of joy. When he paused his playing for the orchestral parts, he seemed peaceful and content with the music. He executed many scales fluidly, and his phrasing blended playfulness, softness, and emotional impact through crescendos, accelerandos, and staccato accents.

Later, in the second and third movements, Fujita’s playing was especially exuberant. Fujita’s trills were also well-achieved, and his left hand spoke with a distinct voice from his right, especially when it had the melody. Almost every section of the orchestra interacted melodically with either the piano or another instrument section, making the listening experience fun and entertaining.

After the piano concerto, the opening clarinet solo, the orchestra performed Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1 with attention to the tonal aspects of the piece. The rumble of the timpanis was moody and pensive. Abruptly, the second violins began to tremolo, as the clarinet voice died. Then, the violins introduced a melodic motif which cut passed to the cellos and violas. The whole orchestra built to a dramatic, sonorous, louder reworking of the motif. The percussion, particularly the timpani’s rolling, added a dazzling thunderous element.

When the music calmed, a harp melody marked a new episode, where the flutes and clarinets had a lighter part, accompanied by plucking in the cellos. Later in the movement, the harp returned, followed by a haunting heralding of trumpets. As unified as the orchestra was in its dynamics and melodies, the plucked ending note of this movement was a bit uncoordinated.

The second and third movements, however, redeemed this slight mishap. The percussion and harp added incredible atmospheric accents to the music. For instance, there was an addition of twinkly triangle in the second movement, and the harp added a mystical, fairytale sound in the third.

Conductor Andris Nelsons tightly controlled the dynamics of the piece through sharp vertical movements of his baton, to great effect. The repetitions and reworking of the original melody from the first movement were sonically unique, and the crescendos of the whole orchestra were exciting.

Adding on to this intensity, the fourth movement saw an ethereal flute segment, followed by a similar one in the clarinets. Nelsons conducted with his whole body to bring about a build-up of dynamics. Timpani notes marked the passing-off of the focus to different instruments, like to the clarinet or cello.

At one point, the strings and timpanis conversed, handing off loud notes and rumbling, in a thrilling, menacing way. The percussion, again, was energetic and essential to the tone of the piece. Thunderous moments returned in this final movement, and the ending was perfectly synchronized. The orchestra was faithful to the dynamic and tonal shifts in Sibelius’ symphony, controlling melodic and dynamic fluctuations to an impressive effect.

This BSO concert was an interesting medley of pieces, of different composers, styles, and time periods. Despite their differences, the three selections allowed the audience to experience a wide range of emotions and melodies. Like the cyclical nature of “Day Night Day,” the three works created a trip from the mysterious and the brooding, to the graceful and joyous trills of Mozart, and back to the darkness in Sibelius, this time with additional resonance and sonority.

—Canela E. Tustin is a staff writer for The Crimson. She can be reached at [email protected]