News

The World Premiere of Ad Spiram- Concerto for organ and symphony orchestra will take place in
Helsinki, Finland 25.11.2026 with soloist Iveta Apkalna and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra
conducted by Jukka-Pekka Saraste.
“Ad Spiram, loosely translated from Latin, means ‘towards the spiral’ or ‘towards the vortex’,” says
Sebastian Fagerlund, explaining the title of his organ concerto. “The Latin word ‘spirare’ means to
breathe. These two meanings were strongly in my mind during the composition phase. I have had
an abstract image of columns of air that intertwine in a spiral and the idea of the instrument itself
that breathes.”

The concerto is a joint commission from Helsinki Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra,
Dresden Philharmonic and the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Katowice.
The concerto is dedicated to Iveta Apkalna.

https://helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi/en/concerts/ad-spiram