This concert brings to the stage works that move between deep emotions and strong contrasts – from delicate hymns to passionate tangos and from meditative contemplation to poignant lamentation. The works play with expectations and test the limits of instruments.
The Turku Music Festival is Finland’s oldest continuously running music festival. It has evolved into a diverse urban event with a wide range of excellent music.
The Turku Music Festival was founded by the Musical Society in Turku in 1960. It has evolved into a diverse urban event with a wide range of excellent music including grand orchestral concerts, chamber music, recitals, jazz, outdoor events and children’s concerts. The guest roster includes Finnish and foreign stars each year. The current Artistic Director is Lauri Porra. His predecessors include Klaus Mäkelä, Ville Matvejeff, Topi Lehtipuu, Olli Mustonen and Martti Rousi.
Artist presentation
VÍKINGUR ÓLAFSSON
Icelandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has captured public and critical imagination to become one of the most sought-after artists of today. His recordings have led to over one billion streams and he has won numerous awards, including BBC Music Magazine Album of the Year, Opus Klassik Solo Recording of the Year (twice) and a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. Other notable honours include Rolf Schock Music Prize, Gramophone’s Artist of the Year, and Musical America’s Instrumentalist of the Year, the Order of the Falcon (Iceland’s order of chivalry) as well as the Icelandic Export Award, given by the president of Iceland.
Artist presentation
JINGJING XU
The winner of the 2024 Mirjam Helin International Song Contest, Jingjing Xu, is a Chinese mezzo-soprano born in 1999. She recently graduated with a Master’s degree from the Schulich School of Music at McGill University in Montreal, where she studied with Annamaria Popescu, Michael McMahon and Esther Gonthier.
