Festouverture D major - Juhla-alkusoitto

Armas Järnefelt (1869-1958) composed his Festouverture (Festive Overture) for the official opening of the Finnish National Theatre on 9 April 1902. This was a great event in the history of Finnish theatre, for it meant that the Finnish Theatre founded by Kaarlo and Emilie Bergbom in 1872 at last had a home of its own. The eight minute overture is a jubilant example of Järnefelt's orchestral writing, through which he introduced a new, Wagnerian voice into Finnish music.