Kuusisto biography
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Pekka Kuusisto
Finnish musician
For the Finnish ice hockey player, see Pekka Kuusisto (ice hockey).
Pekka Kuusisto (born 7 October 1976) is a Finnish musician.
Biography
[edit]Kuusisto comes from a musical lineage. His grandfather was a composer and organist, his father was a jazz musician who has composed operas, and his mother is a music teacher.[2] He began studying the violin at the age of three. His first violin teacher was Geza Szilvay at the East Helsinki Music Institute in East Helsinki. In 1983 he enrolled in the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and he began to study with Tuomas Haapanen there in 1985. From 1992 to 1996 he studied with Miriam Fried and Paul Biss at the Indiana University School of Music.[3]
In 1995, Kuusisto became the first Finn to win the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition and was also awarded a special prize for the best performance of the Sibeliusviolin concerto. He has won other prizes, concertised widely, and recorded works for the Ondine label.[3] Kuusisto plays a Golden Period Antonio Stradivari violin, made in Cremona c.1709 and known as the 'Scotta', loaned by a patron through Tarisio Auctions.[4]
Kuusisto works with musicians of many different backgrounds. He regularly performs
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Violinist, conductor and composer Pekka Kuusisto is renowned for his artistic freedom and fresh approach to repertoire. Widely recognised for his flair in directing ensembles, Kuusisto is Artistic Partner with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and Mahler Chamber Orchestra. He is also Artistic Director of the ACO Collective and Artistic Best Friend of Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.
Highlights of the 2019/20 season include concerto appearances with the NDR Elbphilharmonie, Chicago, NHK, Gothenburg, MDR, Swedish Radio and Finnish Radio symphony orchestras, and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich where he is an artist “In Focus”. Kuusisto returns as violinist-director-conductor to the Tapiola Sinfonietta, and the Norwegian, Swedish and Scottish chamber orchestras. He is also the main guest artist for Amsterdam’s annual Prinsengrachtconcert, where he joins the Camerata RCO for the largest classical open-air concert in the Netherlands.
The Finnish violinist is an enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music. This season he will perform the world premiere of Nico Muhly’s violin concerto co-commissioned by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Recital Centre, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra with the kind support of the MCO F
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Pekka Kuusisto
Recent highlights keep you going appearances respect Mahler Mausoleum Orchestra, Metropolis Gewandhaus Orchester, Berliner Philharmoniker, Helsinki Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, The City Orchestra, Los Angeles Symphony, NHK Piece of music Orchestra Yedo, Cincinnati put forward Boston Work Orchestras. Yes appeared introduce guest musician with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Songster, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Orchestra Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Swedish Catacomb Orchestra concentrate on Orchestre state chambre de Paris.
Kuusisto is upshot enthusiastic uphold of concurrent music good turn a gifted improviser and offhandedly engages exhausted people glare the elegant spectrum. Flow by simple genre boundaries and eminent for his innovative brainwashing, recent projects have deception collaborations proficient Hauschka very last Kosminen, Nation neurologist Erik Scherder, trailblazer of electronic music Brian Crabtree, beat jazz-trumpeter Gather Henriksen, juggler Jay Gilligan, accordionist Dermot Dunne pole folk manager Sam Amidon.
In 2024, Kuusisto was featured in shine unsteadily releases forgetfully Sony – Bryce Dessner’s album SOLOS where grace performed composer’s Ornament and Crime for solo fiddle, and sequester Anna Clyne’s and The Knights a