Maike Charlotte Fuchs
mf(at)karstenwitt.com
+49 30 214 594-220
Heike Wilms
hw(at)karstenwitt.com
+49 30 214 594-236
General Management
10.03. 15:00
University of California Berkeley
15.03. 19:00
Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, Davis
Anssi Karttunen has always been on the cutting edge of classical usic performance and is one of the most innovative cellists in today’s international music scene. He started learning the cello as a 4-year-old in Finland, a uniquely fertile ground for music and musicians, and subsequently built up a worldwide reputation both as a soloist and chamber musician. In his repertoire, he takes a fresh look at the well-known masterpieces and brings forgotten works to the public ear, as well as making own original transcriptions. He plays on modern, classical, and baroque cellos, as well as violoncello piccolo and electric cello. The latter features prominently in his new multimedia solo recital, which includes works by Kaija Saariaho, Thierry Pécou and Pablo Ortiz with images, video and electronics.
Anssi Karttunen is a passionate advocate of contemporary music. He has performed over 170 world premieres, collaborating with such composers as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Pascal Dusapin, Luca Francesconi and Tan Dun. An astounding 29 concertos have been written for him. He premiered Magnus Lindberg’s Cello Concerto No.1 with the Orchestre de Paris (1999) and Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (2013), Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Mania with Avanti! (2000) and Luca Francesconi’s Rest with the RAI Torino (2004). Kaija Saariaho wrote her concerto Notes on Light for Karttunen and he premiered it with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, who commissioned the work, in February 2007. He has subsequently performed the concerto over 50 times with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio, NDR Symphony Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and the New World Symphony among others. In October 2018, he will premiere Betsy Jolas's "Side Roads" with the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and Gérard Korsten. Future plans include premieres of new works by Antti Auvinen, Ramon Lazkano and Sean Shepherd.
Anssi Karttunen has worked with world-renowned orchestras such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, BBC Symphony, NHK Orchestra, Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Ensemble Modern, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, New World Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orchestra and many more. He also performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician at Europe’s most important music festivals, including Edinburgh, Salzburg, Lockenhaus, Berlin, Venice, Strasbourg and Helsinki. His Zebra Trio, with violinist Ernst Kovacic and violist Steven Dann, performs concerts on both sides of the Atlantic. He also enjoys close collaborations with pianist Nicolas Hodges, choreographer Diana Theocharidis and the producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones.
His recordings traverse a broad musical spectrum, including Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano on period instruments and 20th century solo pieces. He has released recordings of concertos by Lindberg, Saariaho, and Salonen on Sony Classical and a DVD of Tan Dun's The Map for cello, video and orchestra on Deutsche Grammophon. Two of Anssi Karttunen’s recordings were nominated for a Gramophone Award in 2013: a CD of Magnus Lindberg’s chamber music works and Henri Dutilleux’s Tout un monde lointain, recorded with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Esa-Pekka Salonen on Deutsche Grammophon, which was chosen as the best contemporary recording of 2013. His recent recordings include Toshio Hosokawa's Concerto Chant for Naxos, his own transcription of Brahms’ String Quintet for Toccata Classics as well as two tango CDs for Petals and Albany.
Born in 1960, Anssi Karttunen studied with Erkki Rautio, William Pleeth, Jacqueline du Pré and Tibor de Machula, among others. From 1999 until 2005 he was principal cellist with the London Sinfonietta. He was the Artistic Director of the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra between 1994 and 1998 the Suvisoitto Festival in Porvoo, Finland from 1994 until 1997. He was the artistic director of the Helsinki Biennale in 1995 and 1997 and the Festival Musica Nova Helsinki in 2015.
He frequently gives masterclasses, for example at Carnegie Hall, at Cello Biennale Amsterdam, at the Juilliard School or at the Royal Academy of Music in London. At the University of Berkeley, he taught and performed as a Regents’ Lecturer in the autumn of 2015. In 2008, he initiated the annual Creative Dialogue workshop in Santa Fe in collaboration with the Sibelius Academy. He started teaching at the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris in the autumn of 2014. Anssi Karttunen plays on a Francesco Ruggeri cello.
2018/2019 season
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorised by the artist management.
G. Aperghis | Bloody Luna (for Cello and Ensemble) |
C.P.E. Bach | Concertos for Cello and Orchestra A major, A minor |
B. Bartok | Rhapsodie Nr. 1 |
L. v. Beethoven | Triple Concerto |
M. Bellamy | Within Dreams I (2004) |
L. Berio | Ritorno degli Snovidenia |
E. Bloch | Schelomo |
Voice in the Wilderness | |
L. Boccherini | Concertos for Cello and Orchestra in B-flat major and G major |
J. Brahms | Double Concerto |
B. Britten | Symphony for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 68 |
M. Bruch | Kol Nidrei |
A. Caplet | Epiphanie |
E. Carter | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (2000) |
Y.-K. Chung | Farewell my Concubine (for Cello, Jinghu and chinese Orchestra) |
L. Dallapiccola | Dialoghie |
J.-L. Darbellay | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra* |
P. Dusapin | Celo (1996) |
Outscape (2015) | |
H. Dutilleux | Tout un monde lointain |
A. Dvorak | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra |
Klid | |
E. Elgar | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra |
I. Fedele | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra |
M. Feldman | Cello and Orchestra |
L. Francesconi | Rest* (2004) |
GUO Wenjing | Concertino |
J. Haydn | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in C major |
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in D major | |
P. Heininen | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra |
Deux Chansons | |
H.-W. Henze | Introduction, Theme and Variations |
P. Hindemith | Kammermusik No. 3 |
J. N. Hummel | Grand Potpourri |
U. Klami | Cheremissian Fantasy for Cello and Orchestra Op. 19 |
E. W. Korngold | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra |
F. Lerdahl | Arches* (2010) |
P. Lieberson | The Six Realms |
M. Lindberg | Zona* |
Kraft | |
Duo Concertante (for Klarinette and Cello)* | |
Konzert für Cello und Orchester (1999)* | |
Konzert für Cello und Orchester No. 2 (2013)* | |
W. Lutoslawski | Grave |
F. Martin | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra |
M. Matalon | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra* (2000) |
C. Matthews | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra II (1996) |
A. Merikanto | Konzertstück |
U. Meriläinen | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (1975) |
Letter to a Cellist* | |
G. M. Monn | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra |
M. Ohana | Anneau de Tamarit |
A. Raskatov | Miserere for Viola, Cello |
K. Saariaho | ...à la fumée (for Cello and Alto Flute)* |
Amers* | |
Notes on Light (2006) | |
Mirage (2008) | |
C. Saint-Saëns | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra A minor |
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra D minor | |
E.-P. Salonen | Mania (2000) |
D. Schostakowitsch | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 1 |
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra No. 2 | |
R. Schumann | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra |
A.-F. Servais | Souvenir de Spa |
J. Sibelius | Cantique et Devotion |
L. Spohr | Concertante für Violine und Cello |
J. M. Staud | Segue. Musik für Violoncello und Orchester |
J. Strauss | Romances I op. 243 |
Romances II op. 255 | |
R. Strauss | Don Quixote |
Cello Sonata F Major op. 6 | |
T. Takemitsu | Scene (for Cello and String Orchestra) |
Orion and Pleiades (for Cello and Orchestra) | |
Tan Dun | Elegy, Snow in June |
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (Yi1)* | |
Crouching Tiger Concerto | |
The Map | |
J. Tiensuu | Oire (2014) |
P. Tschaikowski | Rococo Variations |
P. Vargas | Six Portraits of Pain (2005) |
G. Verdi | I Masnadieri - Overture |
R. Wallin | Ground for Cello and Strings |
C. M. v. Weber | Concerto for Cello and Orchestra (Grand Potpourri) |
G. Wenjing | Concertino |
B.A. Zimmermann | Canto di Speranza |
more... less / top |
* = works written for Anssi Karttunen
The second cello concerto by Magnus Lindberg, with the excellent soloist Karttunen, is a masterpiece of balance; Karttunen doesn’t miss an opportunity in each movement to demonstrate his comprehensive ability.
klassik.com, Michael Loos, 13/06/2016
For the soloist, the piece [Dutilleux’s …tout un monde lointain] is a virtuoso workout, with runs that span the instrument’s range, ghostly harmonics and an emphasis on the cello’s very highest range. He threw himself into an energetic, intense performance, handling all of the work’s technical challenges.
Miami Herald, David Flesher, 11/04/2016
Respite was provided by “Notes on light” for cello and orchestra, written by Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. Anssi Karttunen displayed every possible playing technique of the cello with presence and confidence.
Saarbrücker Zeitung, 27/05/2014
…this is also brilliantly mature cello writing that takes full advantage of Karttunen's natural grace unruffled by even the most extreme virtuosic demands. Mainly, Lindberg exploits the cellist's mastery of nuance.
Los Angeles Times, Mark Swed, 20/10/2013
…Karttunen’s virtuosity and versatility are clearly on show, but so too is his shining, beautifully clean tone. A must for anyone curious to hear what 30 modern minds can subject a cello to.
The Strad, Edward Bhesania
Ms. Saariaho composed “Notes on Light,” an unconventional cello concerto, last year for the brilliant soloist here, the Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen. (…) As always in a Saariaho score, color is primary, and Mr. Karttunen showed a mastery of myriad colorings in his rhapsodic performance.
The New York Times, 16/08/2008
The new 15-minute work has thick chords and delicate trills that seem to fill the air with heady, languid sensuality. Yet it still has power, and the virtuosity on display was arresting, given that Lindberg is a superb pianist and Karttunen perhaps the most impressive cellist on the scene today.
Los Angeles Times, 10/08/2006
on Giuseppe Colombi’s ChiaconaChiacona per basso solo by Giuseppe Colombi, and 30 variations by contemporary composers
Anssi Karttunen
Toccata Classics, 2013, TOCC0171
Correspondances; “Tout un monde lointain…»; The Shadows of Time
Anssi Karttunen, cello; Barbara Hannigan, soprano; Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France / Esa-Pekka Salonen
Deutsche Grammophon, 2013, 0289 479 1180 7
Notes on Light; Orion; Mirage
Karita Mattila, soprano; Anssi Karttunen, cello; Orchestre de Paris / Christoph Eschenbach
Ondine, 2008, ODE 1130-2
Carter – Kaipainen – Denisov – Heininen – Bergman
Anssi Karttunen, cello; Tuija Hakkila, piano
Finlandia, 1988, 1576-53362-2
Anssi Karttunen, cello; Tuija Hakkila, piano
Finlandia, 1990, 1576-53395-2
Anssi Karttunen, cello; London Sinfonietta / Esa-Pekka Salonen
Finlandia, 1990, 4508-95865-2
Trios for fortepiano, flute and cello
Tuija Hakkila, fortepiano; Mikael Helasvuo, flute; Anssi Karttunen, cello
Finlandia, 1992, 544142
Anssi Karttunen, cello
Petals, 1998, Petal 001
Anssi Karttunen, violoncello piccolo
Petals, 1998, Petal 002
Graal Théâtre; Château de l’âme; Amers
Gidon Kremer, violin; BBC Symphony Orchestra; Dawn Upshaw, soprano; Members of the Finnish Radio Chamber Choir; Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra; Anssi Karttunen, cello; Avanti! Chamber Orchestra / Esa-Pekka Salonen
Sony Classical, 2001, SK 60817
La Variations; Five Images After Sappho; Giro; Mania; Gambit
Anssi Karttunen, cello; Dawn Upshaw, soprano; London Sinfonietta; Los Angeles Philharmonic / Esa-Pekka Salonen
Sony Classical, 2001, SK 89158
Cantigas; Cello Concerto; Parada; Fresco
Christopher O’Neal, oboe; Anssi Karttunen, cello; Philharmonia / Esa-Pekka Salonen
Sony Classical, 2002, SK 89810
Anssi Karttunen, cello; Tuija Hakkila, fortepiano
Warner Classics, 2003, Apex 0927-49595-2
Anssi Karttunen, cello; Tuija Hakkila, fortepiano
Warner Classics, 2003, Apex 2564060626-2
Anssi Karttunen, cello; Tuija Hakkila, fortepiano
Warner Classics, 2004, Apex 256461144-2
Sonatas
Anssi Karttunen, cello; Tuija Hakkila, piano
Saphir, 2005, 001048
Bruchstück, geträumt; Neun Bagatellen; Instants
Klangforum Wien; Sylvain Cambreling; Zebra Trio; WDR Sinfonieorchester Cologne; Peter Rundel
KAIROS, 2011, KAI0013152
Trio for clarinet, cello and piano; Santa Fe Project (Konzertstück); Partia; Dos Coyotes
Kari Krikku, clarinet; Anssi Karttunen, cello; Magnus Lindberg, piano
Ondine, 2012, ODE-1199-2
String Quintet in F minor, Op. 34; String Quintet in B minor, Op. 115
Zebra Trio (Ernst Kovacic, Steven Dann, Anssi Karttunen); Krysia Osostowicz, violin; Richard Lester, cello; James Boyd, viola
Toccata Classics, 2012, TOCC 0066
Mirage; Cloud Trio; Cendres; Je sens un deuxième cœur; Serenatas
Steven Dann, viola; Pia Freund, soprano; Tuija Hakkila, piano; Mikael Helasvuo, alto flute; Florent Jodelet, percussion; Anssi Karttunen, cello; Ernst Kovacic, violin
Ondine, 2012, ODE 1189-2
Moments of Blossoming; Lotus under the moonlight; Chant
Stefan Dohr, French horn; Momo Kodama, Piano; Anssi Karttunen, Cello; Royal Scottisch National Orchestra / Jun Märkl
NAXOS, 2014, 8.573239
You can find further information, photos and videos on Anssi Karttunen’s own website and on his official Facebook page.
An outstanding soloist, chamber musician, pedagogue, artistic director and essayist – and in all these things a musical bridge-builder and partner to musicians, composers and artists alike from various fields: Anssi Karttunen forges his own path. His journey started in Finland at a very special time. “I was born into a lucky generation,” he explains. “This was a time when the windows to the world were more open than before and perhaps even more so than later on. There were many like-minded people my own age who were interested in being more than just one thing; the cellist, the pianist or the conductor. We saw that being a musician can mean many things.” This lucky generation includes Anssi Karttunen’s contemporaries Esa-Pekka Salonen, Magnus Lindberg and Kaija Saariaho, with whom he started his voyage of discovery....