Turku Music Festival ( fi, Turun musiikkijuhlat, sv, Åbo musikfestspel) is the oldest continuously operating music festival in

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 Bot ...

. The festival was founded in 1960 by the Musical Society 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''; ...

. The city festival offers audiences' big orchestral concerts, chamber music concerts, recitals, jazz, out-door events and concerts. The festival is annually visited by both international and Finnish artists. The festival takes place in several concert halls, churches and other venues in Turku such as the

Turku Concert Hall Turku Concert Hall ( fi, Turun konserttitalo, sv, Åbo konserthus) is located on the north side of the Puutori market square in Turku, Finland. The hall was designed by architect Risto-Veikko Luukkonen and constructed in 1952. It was the first c ...

, the Academy Hall, the

Turku Cathedral Turku Cathedral ( fi, Turun tuomiokirkko, sv, Åbo domkyrka) is the only medieval basilica in Finland and the Mother Church of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. It is the central church of the Lutheran Archdiocese of Turku and the seat ...

, Sigyn Hall, the

Turku Castle Turku Castle ( fi, Turun linna, sv, Åbo slott) is a medieval building in the city of Turku in Finland. Together with Turku Cathedral, the castle is one of the oldest buildings still in use and the largest surviving medieval building in Finland. ...

and the

Sibelius Museum The Sibelius Museum ( Finnish: ', Swedish: ') is a museum of music, named after the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The museum is located close to Turku Cathedral in the historical city centre of Turku on the southwest coast of Finland. ...

. The program consists of orchestral concerts by Turku's own philharmonic orchestra as well as several visiting ensembles and conductors, soloists, chamber musicians, jazz musicians and also several staged or semi-staged music performances. From 2019 the festival's artistic director will be conductor and cellist Klaus Mäkelä. Previous artistic directors have been pianist/conductor Ville Matvejeff, tenor

Topi Lehtipuu Topi Lehtipuu (born 24 March 1971 in Brisbane, Australia) is a Finnish operatic tenor. He has sung a variety of roles from different periods, including the title role in Benjamin Britten's ''Albert Herring'' at the Finnish National Opera, several ...

, pianist/conductor

Olli Mustonen Olli Mustonen (born 7 June 1967 in Vantaa, Finland) is a Finnish pianist, conductor, and composer. Biography Mustonen studied harpsichord and piano from the age of five with Ralf Gothóni and then Eero Heinonen. He studied composition with Ei ...

and cellist Martti Rousi.

Artists who have visited the festival

*Violin:

Lisa Batiashvili Elisabeth Batiashvili ( ka, ელისაბედ ბათიაშვილი; born 7 March 1979), professionally known as Lisa Batiashvili, is a prominent Georgian violinist active across Europe and the United States. A former New York ...

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He plays the Gibson Stradivarius. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, to Shirley Bell, a therapist, and Alan P. Bell, a psychologi ...

, Igor Oistrakh,

Gidon Kremer Gidon Kremer ( lv, Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica. Life and career Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holo ...

Anne-Sophie Mutter Anne-Sophie Mutter (born 29 June 1963) is a German violinist. She was supported early in her career by Herbert von Karajan. As an advocate of contemporary music, she has had several works composed especially for her, by Sebastian Currier, Henr ...

*Cello:

Steven Isserlis Steven Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. He has led a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. Acclaimed for his profound musicianship, he is also noted for his diverse reper ...

Heinrich Schiff Heinrich Schiff (18 November 1951 – 23 December 2016) was an Austrian cellist and conductor. Early life Heinrich Schiff was born on 18 November 1951 in Gmunden, Austria. His parents, Helga (née Riemann) and Helmut Schiff, were composers. H ...

Arto Noras Arto Noras (born 12 May 1942, in Turku) is a Finnish cellist 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 ...

Natalia Gutman Natalia Grigoryevna Gutman (russian: Наталья Григорьевна Гутман) (born 14 November 1942 in Kazan), PAU, is a Russian cellist. She began to study cello at the Moscow Music School with R. Sapozhnikov. She was later admitted t ...

*Song:

Sonya Yoncheva Sonya Yoncheva ( bg, Соня Йончева; born 25 December 1981) is a Bulgarian operatic soprano. Early life Yoncheva was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. From the age of 6, she was "working", according to her own words from an interview for ''Metr ...

Elina Garanca Elina may refer to: *Elina (Epirus) an ancient Greek fortified town in the region of Epirus *'' Elina: As If I Wasn't There'', a 2002 Swedish film *Elina, protagonist of the '' Barbie: Fairytopia'' series of animated films * ''Elina'' (butterfly), ...

Natalie Dessay Natalie Dessay (; born 19 April 1965) is a French singer, known for her former career as an operatic soprano. She gained wide recognition after her portrayal of Olympia in ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' in 1992, and then performing at leading stages, ...

Jorma Hynninen Jorma Kalervo Hynninen (born 3 April 1941) is a Finnish baritone who performs regularly with the world's major opera companies. He has also worked in opera administration. Hynninen was born on 3 April 1941 in Leppävirta, Finland. He studied fr ...

Soile Isokoski Soile Marja Isokoski (born 14 February 1957) is a Finnish lyric soprano. She is an opera singer as well as a concert and lieder singer. Career Isokoski was born in Posio, Finland. She graduated from the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki (a cantor-o ...

Jonas Kaufmann Jonas Kaufmann (born 10 July 1969) is a German operatic tenor. He is best known for the versatility of his repertoire, performing a variety of opera roles in multiple languages in recitalTommasini, Anthony (21 February 2014)"A Tenor Finds Energy ...

Karita Mattila Karita Marjatta Mattila (born 5 September 1960) is a Finnish operatic soprano. Mattila appears regularly in the major opera houses worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opéra Bastill ...

Matti Salminen Matti Kalervo Salminen (born 7 July 1945) is a Finnish operatic bass, now retired, who has sung at the most important opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan and Bayreuth Festival. He is distinguished by an imposing figure and ...

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (9 December 19153 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as well as the op ...

, Rolando Villazón *Piano: Emil Gilels,

Claudio Arrau Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and B ...

Grigory Sokolov Grigory Lipmanovich Sokolov (russian: Григо́рий Ли́пманович Соколо́в; born April 18, 1950) is a Russian pianist naturalized Spanish. He is among the most esteemed of living pianists, his repertoire spanning composers f ...

Rodion Shchedrin Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin ( rus, Родион Константинович Щедрин, , rədʲɪˈon kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ɕːɪˈdrʲin; born 16 December 1932) is a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist, winner of USSR State ...

, Andras Schiff,

Murray Perahia Murray David Perahia () (born April 19, 1947) is an American pianist and conductor. He is widely considered one of the greatest living pianists. He was the first North American pianist to win the Leeds International Piano Competition, in 1972. Kn ...

, Svjatoslav Richter,

Yefim Bronfman Yefim "Fima" Naumovich Bronfman (russian: Ефим Наумович Бронфман; born April 10, 1958) is a Soviet-born Israeli-American pianist. Biography Bronfman was born in Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, and immigrated to Israel at the age of 15. H ...

Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (russian: Влади́мир Дави́дович Ашкена́зи, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is an internationally recognized solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. He ...

Lang Lang Lang Lang (; born 14 June 1982) is a Chinese pianist who has performed with leading orchestras in China, North America, Europe, and elsewhere. Active since the 1990s, he was the first Chinese pianist to be engaged by the Berlin Philharmonic, ...

Bella Davidovich Bella Mikhaylovna Davidovich (Бэлла Миха́йловна Давидо́вич; born July 16, 1928) is a Soviet-born American pianist. Biography Davidovich was born in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, into a Jewish family of musicians and began studyi ...

Jonathan Biss Jonathan Biss (born September 18, 1980) is an American pianist, teacher, and writer based in Philadelphia. He is the co-artistic director (with Mitsuko Uchida) of the Marlboro Music Festival. Early life and education Biss was born into a fam ...

*Conductors:

Paavo Järvi Paavo Järvi (; born 30 December 1962) is an Estonian-American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn, Estonia, to Liilia Järvi and the Estonian conductor Neeme Järvi. His siblings, Kristjan Järvi and Maarika Järvi, are also mu ...

Daniel Harding Daniel John Harding (born 31 August 1975) is a British conductor. Biography Harding was born in Oxford. He studied trumpet at Chetham's School of Music and was a member of the National Youth Orchestra at age 13. At age 17, Harding assembled ...

Valeri Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (russian: Вале́рий Абиса́лович Ге́ргиев, ; os, Гергиты Абисалы фырт Валери, Gergity Abisaly fyrt Valeri; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conductor and opera company ...

, Rene Jacobs,

Yevgeny Mravinsky Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Mravinsky (russian: Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Мрави́нский) (19 January 1988) was a Russian conductor, pianist, and music pedagogue; he was a professor at Leningrad State Conservatory. Biog ...

Yuri Temirkanov Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov (russian: Ю́рий Хату́евич Темирка́нов; kbd, Темыркъан Хьэту и къуэ Юрий; born December 10, 1938) is a Russian conductor of Circassian ( Kabardian) origin. Early life ...

Sergiu Celibidache Sergiu Celibidache (; 14 August 1996) was a Romanian conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over five decades, including tenures ...

Esa-Pekka Salonen Esa-Pekka Salonen (; born 30 June 1958) is a Finnish orchestral conductor and composer. He is principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and music di ...

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

Mikhail Pletnev Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev (russian: Михаи́л Васи́льевич Плетнёв, ''Mikha'il Vas'ilevič Plet'nëv''; born 14 April 1957) is a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. Life and career Pletnev was born into a musical fa ...

Sakari Oramo Sakari is a given name, and may refer to: * Sakari Kukko (born 1953), Finnish saxophonist and flutist * Sakari Kuosmanen (born 1956), Finnish singer and actor * Sakari Oramo (born 1965), Finnish conductor * Sakari Pinomäki, Finnish mechanical and ...

, Myung-Whun Chung *Orchestras: St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra,

Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra The Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra or just the Mariinsky Orchestra (formerly known as the Kirov Orchestra) is located in the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. The orchestra was founded in 1783 during the reign of Catherine the Great, it w ...

London Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Richard Strauss, ...

, The

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Finnish: ''Radion sinfoniaorkesteri'', Swedish: ''Radions symfoniorkester'') is a Finnish broadcast orchestra based in Helsinki, and the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). The orchestra pri ...

, The

Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra ( sv, Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester) is a Swedish radio orchestra based in Stockholm, affiliated with Sveriges Radio (Sweden's Radio). Its principal performing venue is the Berwaldhallen (Berwald Hall). The ...

, Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra *String-quartets:

Lindsay String Quartet The Lindsay String Quartet (or The Lindsays) was a British string quartet from 1965 to 2005. History The quartet first performed at the Royal Academy of Music in 1965 to compete for a prize and set out to make the string quartets of Bartók and ...

Borodin Quartet The Borodin Quartet is a string quartet that was founded in 1945 in the then Soviet Union. It is one of the world's longest-lasting string quartets, having marked its 70th-anniversary season in 2015. The quartet was one of the Soviet Union's best ...

Chilingirian Quartet The Chilingirian Quartet is a British string quartet. It gave its first public concert in Cambridge in 1972. By the time the quartet celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, there had been various changes in the line-up. However, it has continued to ...

, Meta4 *Early Music:

Emmanuelle Haïm Emmanuelle Haïm (; born 11 May 1962) is a French harpsichordist and conductor with a particular interest in early music and Baroque music. Early life, student and assistant years Haïm was born and grew up in Paris, and was raised Catholic altho ...

, Jordi Savall,

Gustav Leonhardt Gustav Maria Leonhardt (30 May 1928 – 16 January 2012) was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments. Le ...

Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael Koopman (; born 2 October 1944), known professionally as Ton Koopman, is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orche ...

Le Concert d'Astrée Le Concert d'Astrée is an instrumental and vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of Baroque music. It was founded In 2000 by Emmanuelle Haïm, and has been in residence at the Opéra de Lille since 2004 and has established an international re ...

, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra,

Il pomo d'oro ''Il pomo d'oro'' (''The Golden Apple'') is an opera in a prologue and five acts by the Italian composer Antonio Cesti with a libretto by Francesco Sbarra (1611-1668). It was first performed before the imperial court in a specially constructed ope ...

*Rock:

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- ...

*Other guests:

Donna Leon Donna Leon (; born in Montclair, New Jersey) is the American author of a series of crime novels set in Venice, Italy, featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti. In 2003, she received the Corine Literature Prize. Leon lived in Veni ...

John Malkovich John Malkovich (born December 9, 1953) is an American actor. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Screen Actors Guild Aw ...

External links

Official website of the Turku Music Festival
{{Coord missing, Finland Music festivals in Finland Culture in Turku Recurring events established in 1960 Tourist attractions in Turku Music festivals established in 1960