Tapiola Sinfonietta
The Tapiola Sinfonietta is one of the exceptionally large number of top orchestral ensembles that flourish in Finland, five-and-a-half-million souls strong. It is the municipal orchestra of the city of Espoo; Tapiola is a district of that city, and the orchestra is based at Tapiola Hall in the Espoo Cultural Center. In 2022, the Tapiola Sinfonietta, under honorary conductor Jean-Jacques Kantorow, backed pianist Alexandre Kantorow in a recording of works for piano and orchestra by Saint-Saëns, including the popular Piano Concerto No. 2.
The Tapiola Sinfonietta was founded in 1987. With 43 members, the group applied itself to the beginning to Viennese Classical-era repertory, performing this music with an ensemble approaching the size originally used. As the orchestra's successes grew, however, the repertory broadened to include Scandinavian works, contemporary music, and more. The group's municipal functions are strong, including performances for school groups and in senior citizen housing complexes, but it has also made numerous foreign tours.
The Tapiola Sinfonietta has proven to be an unusually reliable launchpad for international conducting careers. Its artistic directors have included Jorma Panula, Osmo Vänskä, and violinist-conductor Jean-Jacques Kantorow, who was the artistic director from 1993 to 1999 and conductor from 2000 to 2006 and, according to the orchestra, "was of decisive importance to the shaping of the orchestra's current sound." Kantorow was named the orchestra's honorary conductor in 2011, and guest conductors have included Paavo Berglund, Hannu Lintu, and Masaaki Suzuki, among others. It is also notable that the orchestra's membership has been quite stable, enabling the group to perform frequently without any conductor at all.
By 1997, the Tapiola Sinfonietta had begun to attract the attention of top classical labels. It has recorded often for both the BIS and Ondine labels. It has recorded premieres of works by Einojuhani Rautavaara, Kaija Saariaho, and Magnus Lindberg. In 2017, the orchestra joined pianist Yevgeny Sudbin for a recording of Beethoven's first two piano concertos, and it was featured, along with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, on a recording of works by composer Matthew Whittall the following year. In 2019, the orchestra and Kantorow backed the conductor's son, Alexandre Kantorow, on a recording of Saint-Saëns' Piano Concertos Nos. 3, 4, and 5 on the BIS label. These same forces returned in 2022, this time offering Saint-Saëns' Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2, along with other works for piano and orchestra. As of the early 2020s, the Tapiola Sinfonietta has released more than 70 recordings.
© James Manheim & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Saint-Saëns: Works for Piano & Orchestra
Alexandre Kantorow, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jean-Jacques Kantorow
Klassik - Erschienen bei BIS am 01.04.2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tüür : Illuminatio, Symphony No. 8...
Lawrence Power, Genevieve Lacey, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Olari Elts, Marko Myohanen
Symphonieorchester - Erschienen bei Ondine am 09.02.2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos
Olli Mustonen, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Klassik - Erschienen bei Ondine am 01.05.2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Magnus Lindberg : Violin Concerto - Jubilees - Souvenir
Pekka Kuusisto, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Magnus Lindberg
Klassik - Erschienen bei Ondine am 27.08.2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart, Winter, Hummel & Rossini: Bassoon Concertos
Jaakko Luoma, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Klassik - Erschienen bei Ondine am 08.03.2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos Nos. 3-5
Alexandre Kantorow, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jean-Jacques Kantorow
Klassik - Erschienen bei BIS am 03.05.2019
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Piano Concertos & Malédiction
Alexandre Kantorow, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jean-Jacques Kantorow
Klassik - Erschienen bei BIS am 01.06.2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concertos pour alto
David Aaron Carpenter, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Riitta Pesola
Klassik - Erschienen bei Ondine am 03.04.2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
MOZART, W.A.: Arias (Isokoski)
Soile Isokoski, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Marita Viitasalo, Peter Schreier
Vokalmusik (weltlich und geistlich) - Erschienen bei Ondine am 01.01.2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
HAYDN, J.: 7 letzten Worte unseres Erlosers am Kreuze (Die) (The 7 Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross) (Storgards)
Tapiola Sinfonietta, John Storgårds
Klassik - Erschienen bei Ondine am 01.01.2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Yevgeny Sudbin, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Osmo Vänskä
Klassik - Erschienen bei BIS am 31.03.2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
No Rules! (Classical Version)
Windows95Man, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Klassik - Erschienen bei All Day Entertainment Oy am 26.04.2024
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
SIBELIUS, J.: Humoresques / 2 Serenades / Suite for Violin and String Orchestra / Swanwhite (Kuusisto)
Pekka Kuusisto, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Klassik - Erschienen bei Ondine am 01.01.2006
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Kalmuk
Kimmo Pohjonen, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Abdissa Assefa, Samuli Kosminen
Klassik - Erschienen bei Westpark Music am 01.09.2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite, Apollon musagète & Concerto for Strings in D Major
Tapiola Sinfonietta, Masaaki Suzuki
Klassik - Erschienen bei BIS am 03.06.2016
5 Sterne Fono Forum Klassik24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4, Serenades Nos. 1 & 2
Tapiola Sinfonietta, Mario Venzago
Klassik - Erschienen bei Sony Classical am 22.06.2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Weber, C.M. Von: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 / Bassoon Concerto / Andante E Rondo Ungarese
Klassik - Erschienen bei BIS am 30.06.2009
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SIBELIUS, J.: Pelleas and Melisande / Cassazione / Presto / Suite mignonne / Suite champetre / Suite caracteristique (Tapiola Sinfonietta)
Tapiola Sinfonietta, Tuomas Ollila-Hannikainen
Klassik - Erschienen bei Ondine am 01.01.2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne
Carolyn Sampson, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Pascal Rophé
Klassik - Erschienen bei BIS am 03.09.2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
BACH, J. S.: Violin Concertos (Kuusisto)
Jaakko Kuusisto, Pekka Kuusisto, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Klassik - Erschienen bei Ondine am 01.01.2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
RANTALA, I.: Piano Concerto and Concerto in G sharp major / A flat major / Astorale / Tangonator / Final Fantasy (Rantala)
Iiro Rantala, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jaakko Kuusisto
Klassik - Erschienen bei Ondine am 01.01.2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo