Minnesota Orchestra’s Thomas Søndergård seeks to showcase Nordic emotions with ‘Nordic Soundscapes’

January is festival time at Minneapolis’ Orchestra Hall. The Minnesota Orchestra customarily spends the state’s coldest month delving deeply into the music of a particular composer over multiple concerts. For the first festival of his tenure as the orchestra’s artistic director, Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård has chosen to explore music from the Nordic countries.

He and the orchestra will present music by composers from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, from Friday through Jan. 18. In addition to Norway’s Edvard Grieg and Finland’s Jean Sibelius, the festival will illuminate the music of Denmark’s national composer, Carl Nielsen, and several contemporary voices.

We talked to Søndergård about the Nordic Soundscapes Festival from his home west of Copenhagen. The conversation has been edited for length.

Q: Why music from the Nordic countries?

A: From the start, I knew that so many from the Scandinavian countries immigrated to the area. I feel that there’s a link that reminds me of the mentality of the Nordic countries. And I thought it would be nice to program some of the Nordic pieces that they may not have heard and the orchestra may not have played. That always brings a new kind of energy.

Q: Do you think many of these composers evoke the landscapes of their native countries?

A: No, I would say generally not. Music describes things and emotions that we can’t really talk about. Where I am right now, views were not a thing that they thought of. If anything, houses were designed to shield yourself from the cold wind. It’s not to look at the sunset. So nature was not so romantic as it is in our time.

Q: Let’s talk about Carl Nielsen. Two of the festival’s centerpieces are his Clarinet Concerto [with the orchestra’s principal clarinetist, Gabriel Campos Zamora, soloing, Jan. 10-11] and his Violin Concerto [Jan. 16-18, with Swedish violinist Johan Dalene as soloist]. What’s unique about that composer’s voice?

A: Simple music went through his veins from the very beginning, and that’s very clear in almost everything he’s done. Many would say that his most successful compositions are the songs that we, as children, would hear. My mom would sing songs to me at bedtime, many of them written by Carl Nielsen. They’re so beautiful and linked with the words in a very charming way, with just a little turn that makes them brilliant. If you bring that up to a symphonic scale, he would put some simplicity into the scores. To ground himself in something he felt that everyone could listen to. If you’re ready for a little bit of surprise, then you can feel quite secure in his hands.

Q: Were there some pieces or composers that you knew you wanted to have on one of the concerts?

A: When I heard about [contemporary Norwegian composer] Orjan Matre’s “Lyric Pieces,” I thought it was a brilliant way of reflecting the old [themes from Grieg] with the new. And I’ve long wanted to program [Swedish composer] Elfrida Andrée’s Concert Overture. This is a woman who’s been forgotten, and it’s a beautiful overture. And then [Denmark’s] Bent Sorensen’s “Evening Land” has among the most touching moments I’ve found in contemporary music, an oboe solo near the end of the piece written at a time when he found out his father-in-law, an oboist, was about to die. It’s really a beautiful, beautiful solo that calls outwards.

So all of these are not as much about landscapes, but emotions. About things that composers and musicians experience in their lives and try to describe in music. And often, they really succeed. Something is hidden in the music that touches us. And that’s what I think this art form can really do.

Q: Will you bring a little “hygge” to the hall? That Danish sense of comfort and coziness?

A: I hope so. We talked about Danish design and Nordic design. And how the way you light a room, be it a foyer or a smaller room, makes a difference. They’ve been working very hard on it, to make it a very special experience. Something quite different from the average concert.

When: With clarinetist Gabriel Campos Zamora, 8 p.m. Fri. and 2 p.m. Sat.; chamber music, 2 p.m. Sun.; with violinist Johan Dalene, 11 a.m. Jan. 16, 8 p.m. Jan. 17 and 7 p.m. Jan. 18.

Where: Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls.

Tickets: $20-$121, available at 612-371-5656 or minnesotaorchestra.org.