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
Classical - Released by BIS on 1 Apr 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Complete Piano Concertos
Olli Mustonen, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Classical - Released by Ondine on 1 May 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tüür : Illuminatio, Symphony No. 8...
Lawrence Power, Genevieve Lacey, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Olari Elts, Marko Myohanen
Symphonic Music - Released by Ondine on 9 Feb 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
No Rules! (Classical Version)
Windows95Man, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Classical - Released by All Day Entertainment Oy on 26 Apr 2024
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Magnus Lindberg : Violin Concerto - Jubilees - Souvenir
Pekka Kuusisto, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Magnus Lindberg
Classical - Released by Ondine on 27 Aug 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saëns: Piano Concertos Nos. 3-5
Alexandre Kantorow, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jean-Jacques Kantorow
Classical - Released by BIS on 3 May 2019
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart, Winter, Hummel & Rossini: Bassoon Concertos
Jaakko Luoma, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Classical - Released by Ondine on 8 Mar 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ries: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 2
Tapiola Sinfonietta, Janne Nisonen
Classical - Released by Ondine on 17 May 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Liszt: Piano Concertos & Malédiction
Alexandre Kantorow, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Jean-Jacques Kantorow
Classical - Released by BIS on 1 Jun 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Concertos pour alto
David Aaron Carpenter, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Riitta Pesola
Classical - Released by Ondine on 3 Apr 2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Saint-Saens: Violin Concerto No. 2 / Spartacus / La Muse Et Le Poete
Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Tuomas Ollila-Hannikainen
Classical - Released by BIS on 1 Oct 2001
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Yevgeny Sudbin, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Osmo Vänskä
Classical - Released by BIS on 31 Mar 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
MOZART, W.A.: Arias (Isokoski)
Soile Isokoski, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Marita Viitasalo, Peter Schreier
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Ondine on 1 Jan 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
Classical - Released by Ondine on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Klami: Symphonie Enfantine / Hommage A Handel / Suite for Strings / Suite for Small Orchestra
Timo Koskinen, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Classical - Released by BIS on 30 Sep 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SIBELIUS, J.: Humoresques / 2 Serenades / Suite for Violin and String Orchestra / Swanwhite (Kuusisto)
Pekka Kuusisto, Tapiola Sinfonietta
Classical - Released by Ondine on 1 Jan 2006
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Pulcinella Suite, Apollon musagète & Concerto for Strings in D Major
Tapiola Sinfonietta, Masaaki Suzuki
Classical - Released by BIS on 3 Jun 2016
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Kalmuk
Kimmo Pohjonen, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Abdissa Assefa, Samuli Kosminen
Classical - Released by Westpark Music on 1 Sep 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Canteloube: Chants d'Auvergne
Carolyn Sampson, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Pascal Rophé
Classical - Released by BIS on 3 Sep 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Weber, C.M. Von: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 / Bassoon Concerto / Andante E Rondo Ungarese
Classical - Released by BIS on 30 Jun 2009
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 1-4, Serenades Nos. 1 & 2
Tapiola Sinfonietta, Mario Venzago
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 22 Jun 2018
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo