Jaakko Kuusisto is one of Finland’s most versatile musicians, with a busy schedule as a violinist, conductor and composer. His performances often include a combination of playing and conducting, and he is known for his wide-ranging repertoire. Kuusisto has performed as a soloist and guest conductor with numerous orchestras in Finland and internationally including the Minnesota Orchestra, Melbourne and Sydney Symphony Orchestras, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Flemish Philharmonic, BBC Concert Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Avanti! and the Tapiola Sinfonietta. He was also principal guest conductor of the Oulu Symphony Orchestra from 2005 to 2009.
Jaakko Kuusisto has a special relationship with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra: he served as leader from 1998 to 2012, and during that time his role came to include regular appearances as soloist and conductor in numerous concerts and recordings. He has also combined the roles of arranger and conductor.
Kuusisto performs on more than a dozen BIS recordings, including a disc of previously unreleased music by Armas Järnefelt. Kuusisto’s violin recordings also include several CDs of Jean Sibelius’s violin works and concertos by Rautavaara, Sallinen and Pulkkis. The core of his work as a composer consists of chamber music for strings and piano. In addition he has written four operas, including the family opera The Canine Kalevala, which was premièred at the Savonlinna Opera Festival. With effect from 2013, Kuusisto is artistic director of the Oulu Music Festival.
For further information please visit
Jaakko Kuusisto's website.
