Mika Kares & Kirill Kozlovski: In the Dark Stream

At the Turku Music Festival in August 2026, audiences will experience an exceptional lied recital as the internationally acclaimed bass Mika Kares returns to Finnish stages together with his long-time collaborator, Doctor of Music Kirill Kozlovski. The concert In the Dark Stream, performed in the atmospheric setting of Betel Church, brings together key works of Finnish vocal music with a deeply personal interpretation shaped over many years.

The programme is built around works by Tauno Pylkkänen, Oskar Merikanto, and Toivo Kuula. Kares and Kozlovski have created a programme that celebrates the Finnish language, poetry, and song tradition, featuring song cycles, solo songs, and piano works. A special highlight of the evening is Toivo Kuula’s arrangements of South Ostrobothnian folk songs—pieces that have accompanied Kares since his student years.

“It is a great honour to perform a full concert in Turku. Last year I experienced the incredible atmosphere of the Turku Music Festival and the Night of the Arts through a communal singing event, but now I also can present an entire concert of Finnish vocal music,” says Kares.

The programme also represents a personal journey for Kares:

“This concert begins a two-day presence for me in Turku, during which I will perform both solo and works that are close to my heart. It includes songs I was already singing as a young boy when I began my studies at the Rauma Music Institute. It is personally meaningful to perform these pieces, each of which carries a story for me. And performing for a Finnish audience is truly incomparable”, Kares adds with a smile.

In the Dark Stream is an evening where the deep tones of Finnish vocal music, poetic language, and powerful interpretation come together. It is a return to the roots—and at the same time a moment in which an internationally acclaimed artist shares the essence of his music with audiences in Turku.