“A season finale of the highest caliber” in Oviedo – press review

Pietari Inkinen brought the 2025/26 Auditorium Concerts season in Oviedo to a close with Oviedo Filarmonía, conducting a programme that combined the world premiere of Antoni Parera Fons’s Vetusta Promenade, Walton’s Cello Concerto with Steven Isserlis, and Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony.

In a review published by Pablosiana, Inkinen’s “restrained yet consistently clear and precise conducting style” was highlighted in the opening world premiere, as well as the close support he gave to Steven Isserlis in Walton’s Cello Concerto. In Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony, the review noted that the score was “clearly deeply internalized” by Inkinen, who conducted the work from memory.

The critic described Inkinen’s interpretation as “precise and persuasive”, praising the way he allowed the richness of Sibelius’s score to unfold naturally while drawing “a superb response from a versatile and disciplined” Oviedo Filarmonía. The review concluded that the season ended “on an outstanding note” for the orchestra, underlining the value of conductors such as Inkinen.

Here you can read an English translation of the review:

“The Auditorium Concerts season came to a close with Oviedo Filarmonía, the resident orchestra of the series, this time under the direction of Finnish violinist and conductor Pietari Inkinen and featuring British cellist Steven Isserlis, who returned to Oviedo after five years to perform Walton’s Cello Concerto, a work of which he is one of today’s foremost advocates.
From Finland’s seemingly inexhaustible tradition of conductors, whose ranks continue to grow and occupy podiums around the world, Pietari Inkinen joins the distinguished lineage of Finnish maestros in leading OFIL for a season finale of the highest caliber. The evening included a premiere, Antoni Parera Fons’s Vetusta Promenade, commissioned by the orchestra itself, although Sibelius would ultimately be the evening’s central figure.
According to the program notes by Santiago Ruiz de la Peña Inkinen’s thorough study of the score was evident from the outset. With a restrained yet consistently clear and precise conducting style, he brought confidence and solidity to the premiere, creating an ideal bridge to Isserlis’s concerto appearance.
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If Parera’s work evoked Asturias, Walton’s concerto evoked Britain even more strongly. Isserlis’s 1726 Stradivarius, the Marquis de Corberon, was constantly at the forefront, perfectly supported by Inkinen’s conducting. The performance offered ample opportunity to appreciate every section of OFIL as well as Isserlis’s virtuosity, once again demonstrating a remarkably expansive tone in which technique always remains at the service of the music.
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The symphony was clearly deeply internalized by Pietari Inkinen, who conducted from memory. His interpretation was precise and persuasive, allowing the richness of the score to unfold naturally while eliciting a superb response from a versatile and disciplined OFIL. Inkinen skillfully shaped tempos, balances, and expressive details, enabling both musicians and audience to fully enjoy this masterpiece from his homeland.
The season concludes on an outstanding note for Oviedo’s veteran orchestra, which continues to benefit from the contributions of conductors such as Inkinen. Early glimpses of next season already suggest another successful year ahead, one that will continue to justify Oviedo’s nickname as the “Spanish Vienna.””
Pablosiana