PianoEspoo Festival
PianoEspoo, previously known as Espoo International Piano Festival, is a biennial event organized for the first time in 1991 as the first Finnish festival dedicated solely to piano music. The festival was established on the initiative of the Espoo Cultural Centre. Since 2001 the Espoo Music Festival Association has been the organizer. Professor Erik T. Tawaststjerna and pianist Marita Viitasalo were the festival’s co-artistic directors until 2009 from whence Ms. Viitasalo continued by herself serving in the role. The festivals from 2015 to 2021 were led by Paavali Jumppanen, and the artistic director for the PianoEspoo 2023 and 2025, is pianist Emil Holmström.
Another main event by the Espoo Music Festivals Association is VocalEspoo Festival. It is a biennial event organized for the first time in 1992. The VocalEspoo Festival is led by Taavi Oramo as the Artistic Director.
Artistic Directors
1991–2009 Marita Viitasalo ja Erik T. Tawaststjerna
2011–2013 Marita Viitasalo
2015–2021 Paavali Jumppanen
2023– Emil Holmström
Pianists
Aho, Emilia 2015
Ahonen, Joonas 2017
Aimard, Pierre-Laurent 2015, 2017
Alasaarela, Hannu 2019
Al-Wadi-Juris, Hamsa 1993
Aleksejev, Dmitri 1995
Anderszewski, Piort 2009
Andsnes, Leif-Ove 1991, 2005, 2015
Armstrong, Kit 2011, 2013
Bah, Aissa 2007
Bart, Tzimon 1991
Bashkirov, Dmitri 2003
Bayless, John 1997
Berman, Lazar 1993
Biret, Idil 2003
Bogányi, Gergely 1997
Bogino, Konstantin 1999
Brachetta, Guillermo 2015
Buniatishvili, Khatia 2013
Collan, Anni 2015
Cooper, Imogen 2021
Davidovich, Bella 1991, 2005
Denk, Jeremy 2015, 2019
Devoyon, Pascal 1991, 1995
Douglas, Barry 1999
Duo Crommelynck 1991
Duo Seppo Salovius & Eero Manninen 2005
Dörken, Danae 2017
Ernesaks, Paula 2011
Fellner, Till 2019
Fou, Ts’ong 1997
Franceschetti, Davide 2001
Fräki, Sonja 2017
Gerstein, Kirill 2001
Go, Aura 2017
Gothoni, Ralf, solisti-johtaja 1993
Grimaud, Hélène 1993
Gräsbeck, Folke 1991
Gröndahl, Roope 2011, 2015
Gylling, Kristoffer 2007
Hakkila, Tuija 1991, 2015, 2021
Hamelin, Marc-André 1999, 2013
Havulehto, Eeva 2003
Heinonen, Eero 1991, 1997, 2011, 2015, 2021
Helasvuo, Esa 1993
Hewitt, Angela 2001
Hilpo, Marko 2011
Holmström, Emil 2015, 2017, 2021
Hotti, Antti 1995, 2015
Hough, Stephen 2007
Hovi, Seppo, solisti, juontaja 1993
Hu, Jamin 2011, 2015
Hu, Jason 2017, 2019
Huttunen, Kirsti 1991
Hämäläinen, Maria 2013
Iacovache-Pana, Laura 2007
Injushina, Anastasia 2005
Jensen, Emil 2011
Jumppanen, Paavali 1995, 1999, 2003, 2015–2021
Järvi, Elisa 2017
Järvi, Linn 2019
Järvilehto, Tarmo 2003
Jääskeläinen, Terhi 2003
Karakorpi, Salla 2005, 2007
Karakorpi, Tiina 1999
Karhapää, Johannes 2011
Kari, Miro 2009
Katris, Katarina 2017
Katsaris, Cyprien 2007
Kemppainen, Mikael 2001
Kerppo, Raija 1997
Kikoski, Dave 1993
Kondratkova, Polina 1997
Konttori-Gustafsson, Annikka 2003
Kozlovski, Kirill 2021
Kudritskaya, Natacha 2015
Kunnamo, Leona 2017, 2019
Kurasawa, Hana 1997
Kämäläinen, Kiku 2013
Kärkkäinen, Heini 1993, 2015
Kärkkäinen, Matilda 2005
Lagerspetz, Juhani 1991, 2003, 2015
Laivuori, Jouko 1991
Lang Lang 2003
Lauha, Matleena 2015
Lauriala, Risto 1991, 2003
Laurila, Anna-Maarit 2005
Laurila, Pirkka-Pekka 2005
Laurila, Toni 2007
Levin, Robert 2017
Lewis, Paul 2013
Lisiecki, Jan 2022
Lintinen, Kirmo 1993, 2007
Liu, Hui-Ying 1993
Lubin, Steven 1993
Lugansky, Nikolai 2021
Lybimov, Aleksei 1991
MacGregor, Joanna 1997
Malmgren, Martin 2015
Malmi Mikko, 2019
Marin, Risto-Matti 2011, 2015, 2017
Matsujev, Denis 2011
McKenzie, Melemed 2017
Mechetina, Katya 2007
Mejias, Anton 2019
Mertanen, Janne 1991, 1999, 2019
Mikkola, Laura 1995, 2001
Mustonen, Marko 1999, 2007
Mustonen, Olli 2003, 2017
Nosè, Alberto 2003
Nykänen, Jukka 1997, 2005
Nyman, Matleena 2015
Okkonen, Marjaana 2005
Osborne, Steven 2005
Ovaskainen, Uki 1995, 1997
Paleczny, Piotr 1999
Paunio, Pyry 2017
Parko, Maija 2021
Peltokoski, Tarmo 2019
Pianoduo Victor & Luis Del Valle 2009
Piirto, Johannes 2013, 2021
Pogorelich, Ivo 1993
Pohjola, Mai 2009
Pohjonen, Joonas 1999, 2019
Pohjonen, Juho 2003, 2021
Pöntinen, Roland 1991
Raatikainen, Marianna 2007
Raekallio, Matti 1993
Rahkonen, Margit 1991
Ranta, Niina 2013
Rantala, Iiro 1993, 1997, 2005
Rautio, Martti 1991
Resjan, Valeria 1997, 2001
Roozeman, Jan-Paul 2011, 2015
Rudy, Mikhail 1997
Ruhno, Karoliina 2011
Russo, Andrew 2017
Rännäli, Mika 2001
Sariola, Eeva-Leena, solisti, juontaja 1995
Satukangas, Arto 1991
Schiff, András 1999
Shtarkman, Naum 1999
Sigfridsson, Henri 1995, 2001, 2009
Simelius-Lindblom, Eveliina 2021
Siirala, Antti 1999, 2001, 2005, 2015
Siirala, Jussi 1993
Sippola, Visa 2007
Sjöblom, Linn 2005
Sokolov, Grigori 2001
Song, Jukka 2009
Sorvari, Elsa 2007, 2009
Stefanovich, Tamara 2015
Söderström, Fanny 2019
Taipale, Lenni-Kalle 1997, 2005, 2013
Taipale, Miikka 2015
Tanner, Ossi 2017, 2021
Tawaststjerna, Erik. T. 1993
Tengstrand, Per 1999
Terada, Etsuko 2007
Tiensuu, Jukka 1991
Turriago, Tuomas 2009
Utter, Robert 2001
Vermeulin, Marie 2019
Viitala, Mirka 2007, 2021
Viitasalo, Marita 1993, 1995, 2019
Viljanen, Tommi 2007
Virsaladze, Elisso 2005
Vogt, Lars 1999
Volondat, Pierre-Alain 2009
Vondracek, Lukas 2017
Wessmann, Emilion 2017
Wass, Ashley 2019
Wunder, Ingolf 2011
Zahharenkova, Irina 2019
Zilberstein, Lilya 1995
Master Classes
Bashkirov, Dmitri 2003
Bogino, Konstantin 2007
Denk, Jeremy 2019
Devoyon, Pascal 1995
Douglas, Barry 1999
Fou Ts’ong 1997
Hewitt, Angela 2001
Levin, Robert, Nuorten pianoakatemia 2017
Lybimov, Aleksei 1991
Mustonen, Olli 1993
Shchedrin, Rodion, säv. 2007
Sigfridsson, Henri / Nuorten pianoakatemia 2015
Siirala, Antti / Nuorten pianoakatemia 2015
Other artists
Ala-Pöllänen, Kari, choir conductor 1995
Björkman, Hannu-Pekka, recitation 2011
Brentano Quartet 2021
Debonne, Eva, harp 2015
Dolivo, Georg, presenter 2011
El-Khashem, Anna, soprano 2021
Ginzburg, Lev, lecture 2007
Gustafsson, Jan-Erik, cello 1999
Haapaniemi Anni, oboe 2017
Harjanne, Jouko, trumpet 1995
Heikinheimo, Hannu, presenter 1993
Heikkilä, Kreeta-Julia, violin 2015
Juntunen Helena, 2019
Kammlar, Johannes, baritone 2021
Kamus Quartet 2015
Kiviniemi, Kalevi, organ 2009
Lehtipuu, Topi, tenor 2021
Lehto, Tuomas, cello 2015
Lehtola, Jan, organ 2003
Louhos, Meri, presenter 1991
Luoma Jaakko, bassoon 2017
Mäki, Harri, clarinet 2017
Nylund, Camilla, soprano 2019
Ohenoja, Antti, percussions 2015
Piiparinen, Petri, percussions 2015
Raekallio, Matti, lecture 2011
Ristiluoma, Riitta-Liisa, viola 2015
Salovaara, Kati, double bass 2015
Severeide, Päivi, harp 2015
Suoranta, Antti, percussion 2015
Tandefelt, Liisi, actor 1999
Tapiolan kamarikuoro 1993
Tapiolan kuoro 1995
Toivonen, Tero, trumpet 2017
Trio Finlandia 1999
Veijola, Timo, presenter 1997
Ya-Wen Lin, harp 2015
Orchestras
Academy of St Martin in the Fields 2022
Australian Chamber Orchestra 2017
Avanti 2017
Cappella kammarorkestern 2005
Espoo Big Band 2013
Espoo Music Institute Symphony Orchestra 1991, 1995, 1997
Helsinki Baroque Orchestra 2019 Helsinki Philharmonic 2005
Nordea Jean Sibelius Orchestra 2011
Radio Symphony Orchestra 1991-2017 (pl.2005)
Lahti Symphony 1993
Tapiola Sinfonietta 1991-2021
Tapiola Youth Symphony Orchestra (EMO) 1999, 2021
Conductors
Albrecht, Marc 1999
Asbury, Stefan 2011
Djupsjöbacka Tomas 2017
Elts Olari 2017
Englund, Meri, viulisti-johtaja 2015
Gothoni, Ralf 1993
Griffiths, Howard 2001
Helsing, Anna-Maria 2015
Hirokami, Jun’ichi 1995
Honeck, Manfred 2003
Jaatinen, Jussi 1995
Kantorow, Jean-Jacques 2003, 2009
Koivula, Hannu 1995
Kuusisto Jaakko 2017
Lehtinen, Markus 1997, 2011
Lintu, Hannu 2007
Lü Jia 2001
Matvejeff, Ville 2021
Means, Jeffrey, lyömäsoittimet, joht. 2015, 2019
Mälkki, Susanna 1999
Nelsons, Andris 2005
Nisonen, Janne, viulisti-johtaja 2013
Norjanen, Hannu 2005
Nyman, Marzi 2013
Oramo, Sakari 2007, 2009
Oramo, Taavi 2019
Oundjian, Peter 2013
Pommer, Max 1991
Rasilainen, Ari 1997
Rauhalammi, Valtteri 1999
Saraste, Jukka-Pekka 1993, 1995, 2005
Savijoki, Pekka 1991
Seim, Kjell 1991
Sinaiski, Vasili 1997
Tognetti Richard 2017
Vänskä, Osmo 1993