ICELANDIC SOUNDS, MAJOR ORCHESTRAL VISITS AND NARRATIVE CONCERT CONCEPTS FEATURE IN THE TURKU MUSIC FESTIVAL SUMMER

The Turku Music Festival will take place from 1 to 21 August 2026. The festival once again brings experiences to venues across the city and continues Artistic Director Lauri Porra’s theme Presence, which emphasises encounters and shared experiences.

The programme is now complemented with newly announced concerts alongside those previously released. Highlights of the summer include world-renowned flautist Claire Chase, conductors Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Hannu Lintu, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, Kjartan Sveinsson of Sigur Rós, Teosto Prize nominee Aili Järvelä, as well as Vesta and Jori Roosberg.

The programme emphasises northern aesthetics and Icelandic music, guiding listeners into landscapes of wild nature and vast open spaces. In addition to Kjartan Sveinsson, the internationally acclaimed violinist and composer María Huld Markan Sigfúsdóttir will also perform in Turku.

Narrative concert concepts are another key focus, where music becomes intertwined with its surroundings. Back to Nature, featuring tenor Julian Prégardien, pianist Pauliina Tukiainen and guitarist Patrik Kleemola, is built around Schubert’s lieder and takes the audience on a day-long journey through natural and inner landscapes. Inspired by the archipelago, Archipelago Stories combines chamber music, electronic soundscapes and video art, while the multidisciplinary The Beauty of the Husband brings together poetry and music.

“This summer’s programme is built around strong artistic concepts. It features both international top artists and Finnish performers, with orchestral concerts, chamber music, and multidisciplinary projects running side by side. Icelandic music is one of the themes of the summer, but above all, the programme has been shaped as cohesive wholes where works and performers engage in dialogue and form clear dramaturgical arcs. The aim is that a concert is not just a single moment, but an experience that unfolds from beginning to end and connects with its surroundings. At the same time, we are bringing the festival into new spaces and more strongly across the city. The Turku Music Festival is not just a series of concerts, but a whole that is present in the city.” says the festival’s Artistic Director Lauri Porra.

A new venue this year is the Bonfire Hall in Åbo Akademi University’s Astra building, where, among others, Claire Chase will perform a solo concert. The festival continues its collaboration with the Turku Cathedral Parish; due to renovations at the Cathedral, the traditional festive service will be held at St. Martin’s Church. Betel Church also returns as a concert venue after a few years’ break.

The programme also features a Bach recital by pianist Anton Mejias, a concert by violinist Elia Lombardini combining electronic and classical music, a performance by the Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat conducted by Pasi Hyökki, and a tango evening by the Henrik Sandås Quintet with soprano Maria Lund.

Summer 2026 will mark the final season of Turku Concert Hall in its current form before the opening of the new music centre Fuuga. The festival celebrates this unique moment with several concerts, including a special evening by one of Finland’s leading pop artists, Vesta, together with her long-time producer Jori Roosberg, as well as the closing concert of the hall’s summer season by Sinfonia Lahti conducted by Hannu Lintu, featuring beloved works by Sibelius.

“The first opening concert of the Turku Music Festival was held at Turku Concert Hall in 1960, which makes this summer particularly meaningful. We are spending the festival’s final summer in a venue whose walls carry decades of music, memories and cultural history. A place alone does not create meaning, nor does content exist independently of space—they need each other to create something unique: experiences that stay with people for a long time. Even as buildings change, cultural memories remain within us. This summer’s programme is both a tribute to history and a step towards a new era,” says Jussi Merikanto, CEO of the Turku Music Festival.

2.8. Claire Chase: Density 2036 (Astra, Bonfire Hall)
5.8. Anton Mejias (Sibelius Museum)
6.8. Rector’s Home Concert: Maria Lund & Henrik Sandås Quintet (Sigyn Hall)
7.8. Elia Lombardini (Betel Church)
7.8. Back to Nature (Sibelius Museum)
9.8. Festive Service at Martin’s Church (Martin’s Church)
9.8. The Beauty of the Husband (Astra, Bonfire Hall)
12.8. OP Home Concert (Villa Leppäniemi, Ruissalo)
13.8. Ylioppilaskunnan Laulajat: Farewell, Friends (Martin’s Church)
14.8. Archipelago Stories (Sigyn Hall)
15.8. Archbishop’s Home Concert (Archbishop’s Residence)
16.8. Castle Meditation: Verneri Pohjola (Turku Castle, King’s Hall)
16.8. Eveliina Kytömäki & Patrik Kleemola: Grand Duo (Brinkhall Manor)
16.8. Aki Rissanen: Omniwerk (Turku Castle, King’s Hall)
19.8. VESTA: Behind the Songs (Turku Concert Hall)
20.8. Mika Kares & Kirill Kozlovski: In the Dark Stream (Betel Church)

1.8. Terry Riley & Claire Chase: The Holy Liftoff (Turku City Theatre)
2.8. Jukka-Pekka Saraste & Karen Cargill: LEAD! (Turku Concert Hall)
8.8. Kjartan Sveinsson & Aili Järvelä: Mountains of Iceland and Finland (Turku Concert Hall)
21.8. Sinfonia Lahti & Hannu Lintu: Sibelius in Turku (Turku Concert Hall)

Heli Koskinen
Head of Sales and Marketing, Turku Music Festival
heli.koskinen@tmj.fi
+358 (0)40 820 3205