The Turku Music Festival is holding a matinee recital on Sunday 4 October, featuring Tuomas Katajala, Essi Höglund, Pisku Ristiluoma, Senja Rummukainen and Eero Heinonen. Legendary pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja will give a Beethoven recital at Turku Concert Hall on 15 November. Norwegian Vertavo String Quartet performs at the Turku Cathedral on 8 February. The recital by Lise Davidsen and Leif Ove Andsnes has been postponed by one day.
The Turku Music Festival is holding a matinee recital titled ‘SCHUBERTIADE’ on Sunday 4 October at 14.00. The performers are tenor Tuomas Katajala – who recently appeared in the Finnish National Opera’s production Covid fan tutte – violinist Essi Höglund, violist Riitta-Liisa Ristiluoma, cellist Senja Rummukainen and pianist Eero Heinonen. The recital was designed by the artistic director of the Festival, Klaus Mäkelä.
SCHUBERTIADE
Sunday 4 October 2020 at 14.00 Turku Concert Hall
Tuomas Katajala, tenor
Essi Höglund, violin
Riitta-Liisa Ristiluoma, viola
Senja Rummukainen, cello
Eero Heinonen, piano
Schubert: Arpeggione Sonata (Senja Rummukainen & Eero Heinonen)
Harbison: November 19, 1828 (Essi Höglund, Riitta-Liisa Ristiluoma, Senja Rummukainen, Eero Heinonen)
Schubert: An den Mond, An Silvia, An der Musik (Tuomas Katajala & Eero Heinonen)
“This recital features performers that were scheduled to appear at the Festival in August 2020 and also includes Eero Heinonen, who most recently appeared in 2019, and Riitta-Liisa Ristiluoma, whose previous visit was some time ago. It is important to be able to hold this recital in Turku. We are very excited about this, and the performers are eager to meet the audience,” says Liisa Ketomäki, managing director of the Turku Music Festival.
As at the concerts of the Turku Philharmonic, attendance at Turku Concert Hall will be limited to just over 300, taking safe distancing into account. Concert guests will be directed into the hall so that distancing is observed. The Turku Music Festival recommends using face masks. “Our employees will be wearing face masks. We will be handing out face masks at the door to audience members, and I hope that people will take them and wear them if they have not brought one of their own. This is the procedure with which it has proven possible to resume concerts in central Europe: limited attendance, safe distancing and face masks. The performers and audience will also be separated by a safe distance. The recital lasts just over one hour, and there is no interval. We will do our best to avoid crowding and queuing. We take the safety of customers, performers and employees very seriously, and if we follow all these measures, then concerts should be safe to attend,” says Liisa Ketomäki.
Tickets for the recital go on sale on 16 September 2020 at 09.00 at all Lippupiste outlets.
Elisabeth Leonskaja at Turku Concert Hall on 15 November
Legendary pianist Elisabeth Leonskaja will give a Beethoven recital at Turku Concert Hall on 15 November 2020 at 14.00. This recital was to have been the opening of the 2020 Turku Music Festival.
The programme comprises the last three Sonatas written by Beethoven, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birth.
“We are very happy to have been able to organise this recital following the Government’s work-related travel guidelines issued last week. Elisabeth Leonskaja is one of the most prominent pianists of our time, and the recital is a celebration of Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year. The recital will be held observing the same safety measures as at our September and October concerts: attendance will be limited, we will ensure that there is no crowding or queuing, there is no interval and we recommend using face masks. Our employees will be wearing face masks, and we will be handing face masks out to the audience members in case they have not brought their own. Our aim is to ensure that people can enjoy cultural events safely in Turku,” says Liisa Ketomäki, managing director of the Turku Music Festival.
Vertavo String Quartet performs on 8 February
On Monday 8 February, Vertavo String Quartet from Norway performs at Turku Cathedral. The programme includes music by Jaakko Kuusisto, Fanny Mendelssohn, Caroline Shaw and Antonín Dvorák. The Quartet members are violinists Øyvor Volle and Annabelle Merare, violist Berit Cardas and cellist Bjørg Lewis.
The recital by Lise Davidsen and Leif Ove Andsnes has been postponed by one day.
The recital by Lise Davidsen and Leif Ove Andsnes has been postponed by one day being now scheduled for 18 August 2021 (previously 17 August). Lise Davidsen will be performing at the Bayreuth Opera Festival before coming to Turku, and the timetable there has changed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“Lise Davidsen definitely wants to give the recital in Turku, so we decided to reschedule it and hope that this will not unduly inconvenience those who have already bought tickets. The recital will form a wonderful conclusion to next summer’s Festival,” says Liisa Ketomäki.
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The December concert of the Turku Music Festival featuring mezzosoprano Joyce DiDonato and the Baroque ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro is going ahead as planned. Some of the concerts programmed for summer 2020 have been postponed to 2021 (the recital by baritone Thomas Hampson to 24 April and the recital by tenor Juan Diego Flórez to 1 June). Tickets to these events are on sale at Lippupiste outlets as normal.
Tickets to all concerts of the Turku Music Festival are on sale at Lippupiste outlets.
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The artistic director of the Turku Music Festival is conductor Klaus Mäkelä.
Further information and requests for interviews
Managing director Liisa Ketomäki, tel.: +358 40 740 6200, e-mail