Janne Juhani Mertanen (born 28 August 1967 in

Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. Th ...

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 ...

) is a Finnish classical

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Life and career

Janne Mertanen has studied at the Joensuu Conservatory as a student of Matti Haapasalo and at the

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 ...

where his teachers included Erik Thomas Tawaststjerna and

Dmitri Bashkirov Dmitri Aleksandrovich Bashkirov (russian: Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович Башки́ров; November 1, 1931 – March 7, 2021) was a Russian pianist and academic teacher. Trained in his hometown Tbilisi and Moscow, he began an in ...

. He then completed his studies with

Lazar Berman Lazar Naumovich Berman (russian: Ла́зарь Нау́мович Бе́рман, ''Lazarʹ Naumovič Berman''; February 26, 1930February 6, 2005) was a Soviet Russian classical pianist, Honoured Artist of the RSFSR (1988). He was hailed for a h ...

at the Accademia Pianistica in Imola, Italy. He made his debut at

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

in London in 1994 with a Chopin program. In March 2010, he made his South American debut as the soloist of Schumann’s piano concerto with the Orchestra of the National Theater of Brazil. In 2014, he made his solo debut in Japan with the Tokyo New City Orchestra. Janne Mertanen is best known for his performances and recordings of

Frederic Chopin Frederic may refer to: Places United States * Frederic, Wisconsin, a village in Polk County * Frederic Township, Michigan, a township in Crawford County ** Frederic, Michigan, an unincorporated community Other uses * Frederic (band), a Japanese r ...

Early life

When Janne Mertanen was a child, he initially wanted to become a tennis player. However at the age of 12 he started to play piano and decided to made it his career.

Discography

Most of Mertanen's recordings are published either by

Sony Classical Sony Classical is an American record label founded in 1924 as Columbia Masterworks Records, a subsidiary of Columbia Records. In 1980, the Columbia Masterworks label was renamed as CBS Masterworks Records. The CBS Records Group was acquired by S ...

or Finnish label

Alba Records ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingdom ...

. * Sibelius: Finnish Folk Songs & Discoveries. Sony Classical 2021 * Kaski: Yö meren rannalla, Heino Kaski Piano Works. Alba 2018 * Palmgren: Piano Concertos 4-5, Pori Sinfonietta-Jan Söderblom. Alba 2017 * Sibelius: Piano Works 5 cd. Sony Classical 2015 * Grieg/Schumann: Piano Concertos, Gävle Symphony Orchestra-Hannu Koivula. Alba 2013 * Chopin: Grand Chopin, Works for piano & Orchestra. Turku Philharmonic-Jani Telaranta. Alba 2011 * Nino Rota: Piano Concertos e & C / Tampere Philharmonic-Hannu Lintu. Alba 2010 * Sibelius: Piano Works. Presence Records 2010 * Chopin: Piano Concertos 1 & 2 / Joensuu City Orchestra-Hannu Koivula. Alba 2008 * Chopin: Nocturnes vol.2 Alba 2003 ("Grand Prix du Disque Frederic Chopin" - award, Warsaw 2005) * Chopin: Nocturnes vol.1 Alba 2001 ("Grand Prix du Disque Frederic Chopin" - award, Warsaw 2005) * Romantic Finnish Piano (Madetoja, Sibelius etc) Macedonia Records 2001 * Chopin: 10 Mazurkas, 3 Etudes etc. Alba 2000 * Kokkonen: Piano Works. Alba 1998 * Satie: Satierik - Piano Works. Alba 1997 * Chopin Recital. Finlandia Records 1994

Competitions

*International Chopin Competition Darmstadt, 1992, 1st place *Nyborg Nordic Piano Competition (Denmark), 1992, 1st place

References

External links

jannemertanen.com — official website
1967 births People from Joensuu Finnish classical pianists Sibelius Academy alumni Living people 21st-century classical pianists {{Finland-musician-stub