In the span of recent seasons, the imaginative and versatile Finnish virtuoso Paavali Jumppanen has established himself as a dynamic musician of seemingly unlimited capability as a solo recitalist, orchestral collaborator, recording artist, artistic director, and frequent performer of contemporary and avant-garde music.
Paavali Jumppanen has performed extensively in the United States, Europe, Japan, China, and Australia alongside such great conductors as David Robertson, Sakari Oramo, Susanna Mälkki, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Jaap van Zweden. He has commissioned numerous works and collaborated with such composers as Boulez, Murail, Dutilleux, Penderecki, as well as many Finnish composers. The Boston Globe praised the “overflowing energy of his musicianship” and The New York Times his “power and an extraordinary range of colors.”
Renowned for performing cycles of the complete Beethoven and Mozart Piano Sonatas, Paavali Jumppanen has often performed all of the Beethoven Piano Concertos and chamber sonatas. His expanding discography includes “the best recorded disc of Boulez’s piano music so far” (The Guardian) and the complete Beethoven Piano Sonatas on Ondine. Mr. Jumppanen spent the 2011–12 season as a visiting scholar in Harvard University’s Music Department studying musicology and theory and is Artistic Director at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM) in Melbourne since 2021.
The 2025 season brings soloist engagements with the San Diego Symphony and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestras, with summer festivals in Poland and Finland. In Australia, Paavali continues his leadership of ANAM alongside performances for Adelaide Festival, Canberra International Music Festival, touring with the Flinders Quartet, concerts celebrating Boulez’ centenary, and more.
Photo credit: Maarit Kytöharju