“The abundance of musicality and depth of interpretation beyond technical flawlessness is so great, so carefully considered and intrinsically tied to the work, so intense and without flashy showmanship, that we can assume that this is not one of those many comets on the piano firmament that light up only to quickly disappear into oblivion.”

 

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

KÖLNER STADT-ANZEIGER

 

 

 

 

First Prize winner of three international piano competitions, including the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition (2003), Finnish pianist Antti Siirala has established himself as one of the finest pianists of his generation. In addition to his recent stunning debut with the San Francisco Symphony (Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with Osmo Vänskä), his engagements include the Bamberg Symphony, BBC/London, City of Birmingham Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Finnish Radio Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Orchestra, German Symphony Orchestra/Berlin, NDR Orchestra/Hannover, New Japan Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony, Residentie Orkest/The Hague, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, St. Petersburg Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Swedish Radio Orchestra, Vienna Symphony, WDR Orchestra/Cologne and the orchestras of Melbourne and Queensland, among others.  Conductors with whom Mr. Siirala has collaborated include Paavo Berglund, Herbert Blomstedt, Semyon Bychkov, Stéphane Denève, Thierry Fischer, Mikko Franck, Michael Gielen, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Pietari Inkinen, Kristjan Järvi, Neemi Järvi, Fabio Luisi, Susanna Mälkki, Sakari Oramo, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Lan Shui, Osmo Vänskä, Mario Venzago and Hugh Wolff.

Highlights among Mr. Siirala’s upcoming appearances are debuts with the Mostly Mozart Orchestra under Osmo Vänskä at Lincoln Center and the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich.  This spring, he will perform as one of four pianists (the others being Pierre Laurent Aimard, Lang Lang, and Martin Helmchen) on the piano recital series of the Berlin Philharmonic.

In 2004, Mr. Siirala’s debut in Brussels exemplified his spontaneity and flexibility: asked to step in for the concert’s suddenly indisposed conductor, Mr. Siirala enthusiastically directed the orchestra from the piano in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3.  Following the intermission, he further delighted the audience with a “splendid rendition” of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations in place of the scheduled Third Symphony of Brahms.  He was immediately re-engaged for concerts with the Orchestre National and a recital at the Palais des Beaux Arts!  Pianists for whom he has successfully stepped in include Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Hélène Grimaud and Ivo Pogorelich. 

An enthusiastic recitalist, Antti Siirala has appeared at the Cologne Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Lucerne Festival, Schumannfest/Düsseldorf, Zurich Tonhalle, London’s Wigmore Hall, and major venues in Brussels, Milan, Detroit and New York.  His debut recording of Schubert transcriptions for Naxos (2003) and his subsequent recording of works by Brahms for Ondine both received Gramophone Magazine’s “Editor’s Choice” award.  Piano News awarded the Brahms disc its highest rating for interpretation.

Though the compositions of Beethoven and Brahms are at the heart of Antti Siirala’s repertoire, his grasp of the entire stylistic spectrum is equally impressive.  Especially committed to new music, he has premiered works by Walter Gieseler, Kuldar Sink, Uljas Pulkkis, and Kalevi Aho.  Kaijo Saariaho’s first work for piano solo, Balladen, is part of his current recital program.

Biography

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