Arto Noras (born 12 May 1942, in

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

) is a

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

cellist The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, D3 ...

who is one of Finland's most celebrated instrumentalists and amongst the most outstanding internationally acknowledged cellists of his generation. At the age of 8, Arto Noras started his studies at the prestigious

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It als ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland. After completing his studies with Professor Yrjö Selin at the Sibelius Academy, Arto Noras studied with

Paul Tortelier Paul Tortelier (21 March 1914 – 18 December 1990) was a French cellist and composer. After an outstanding student career at the Conservatoire de Paris he played in orchestras in France and the US before the Second World War. After the war he b ...

at the

Paris Conservatoire The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

where he gained the coveted Premier Prix diploma in 1964.CONVERSATION WITH ARTO NORAS
by the Internet Cello Society Two years later, in 1966, he was awarded second prize in the

International Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, which immediately opened his way to the most important concert halls in Europe and both North and South America where he has performed regularly ever since. Arto Noras also won the Danish Sonning Prize in 1967 and Finnish State music prize in 1972.Arto Noras
bio at Naxos.com Arto Noras' repertoire covers all the principal works that have been written for his instrument, including those by contemporary composers, and he has recorded them extensively for the Finlandia recording label. In 1970 Arto Noras was appointed Professor of Cello at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Noras has served as a jurist for some of the most important music competitions in the world, including the Tchaikovsky, Casals and Cassado competitions. He can be heard as a most distinguished chamber musician as a member of the Helsinki Trio and as a founder member of the

Sibelius Academy Quartet Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

as well as with several other groups of similarly distinguished musicians. In 1980, Prof. Noras founded the Naantali Music Festival in

Naantali Naantali (; sv, Nådendal) is a town in southwestern Finland, and, as a resort town during the summer, an important tourist centre of the country. The municipality has a population of (), and is located in the region of Southwest Finland, west ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, and as of 2013 he is still the Artistic Manager of the festival. He also founded in 1991 and remains the Artistic Director of the V Paulo International Cello Competition, whose former winners include internationally renowned French concert cellist

Jean-Guihen Queyras Jean-Guihen Queyras is a French cellist. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 11 March 1967, and moved with his parents to Algeria when he was 5 years old; the family moved to France 3 years later. He is a professor at the Musikhochschule F ...

and

Perttu Kivilaakso Perttu Päivö Kullervo Kivilaakso is a cello player for Finnish band Apocalyptica. Like fellow band members Eicca Toppinen and Paavo Lötjönen, he attended Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He plays a German 19th century cello; he started play ...

, member of the popular cello rock band

Apocalyptica Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso, and jazz drummer Mikko Sirén. Originally a classical ...

.V Paulo International Cello Competition

References

Teaching chair

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noras, Arto 1942 births Living people Musicians from Turku Sibelius Academy alumni Academic personnel of the Sibelius Academy Finnish cellists