Anssi Karttunen
Finnish cellist Anssi Karttunen has been one of his country's most vigorous and effective champions of contemporary music. He has given the world premieres of more than 170 works, but has also played music of Beethoven and other mainstream repertory.
Karttunen was born in Finland on September 30, 1960, and took up the cello at age four. Among his teachers were Jacqueline du Pré, William Pleeth, and Erkki Rautio. From 1994 to 1998 he was artistic director of Finland's Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, a group that specialized in contemporary music; he also recorded with that group. Karttunen was also associated with several Finnish festivals in the 1990s, including the Helsinki Biennale. In 1999 he joined the cello section of the London Sinfonietta, remaining there until 2005. In the late 1990s, Karttunen began to amass a large repertory of contemporary works, many of them written expressly for him. These have included the Cello Concerto No. 1 of Magnus Lindberg, which he premiered with the Orchestre de Paris in 1999; Luca Francesconi's Rest, premiered on the RAI in Torino in 2004; and Kaija Saariaho's concerto Notes on Light, premiered with the Boston Symphony in 2007. Karttunen has recorded music by Saariaho for Sony Classical and has also recorded for Naïve, Apex, Ondine, and other labels. Karttunen's recordings include a complete cycle of Beethoven's cello sonatas on historical instruments, with fortepianist Tuija Hakkila. In 2019 he was heard on a recording of Hans Werner Henze's English Folk Songs with the BBC Symphony under Oliver Knussen, on the Wergo label. He has also played Baroque cello, violoncello piccolo, and an electric cello. In the late 2010s he gave recitals featuring multimedia elements. Karttunen lives in Paris with his wife, artist Muriel von Braun. He teaches there at the Ecole Normale de Musique and has given master classes in many countries.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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SAARIAHO, K.: 6 Japanese Gardens / Pres / Lonh (Hoitenga, Upshaw)
Dawn Upshaw, Anssi Karttunen, Camilla Hoitenga, Florent Jodelet, na Not Applicable
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Ondine on Jan. 1, 1997
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
SAARIAHO, K.: Notes on Light / Orion / Mirage (Mattila, Karttunen, Paris Orchestra, Eschenbach)
Anssi Karttunen, Karita Mattila, Orchestre de Paris, Christoph Eschenbach
Classical - Released by Ondine on Jan. 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Saariaho: Du cristal - …à la fumée - 7 Papillons - Nymphéa
Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kronos Quartet, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Anssi Karttunen, Kaija Saariaho, Petri Alanko
Classical - Released by Ondine on Jul. 12, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kaija Saariaho : Let the wind speak
Camilla Hoitenga, Daniel Belcher, Heloise Dautry, Anssi Karttunen, Da Camera of Houston
Chamber Music - Released by Ondine on Nov. 6, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Magnus Lindberg: Al largo, Cello Concerto No. 2 & Era
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Anssi Karttunen, Hannu Lintu
Classical - Released by Ondine on Mar. 4, 2016
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Betsy Jolas, Side Roads, Thierry Escaich: Prélude symphonique
Anssi Karttunen, Roberto Forés Veses, Orchestre national Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Classical - Released by XXI Music on Jun. 5, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Magnus Lindberg : Musique de chambre
Kari Kriikku, Anssi Karttunen, Magnus Lindberg
Chamber Music - Released by Ondine on Aug. 7, 2012
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Lieberson: Songs of Love and Sorrow & The Six Realms
Anssi Karttunen, Gerald Finley, The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Hannu Lintu
Classical - Released by Ondine on Sep. 4, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Henri Dutilleux : Correspondances
Barbara Hannigan, Anssi Karttunen, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Esa-Pekka Salonen
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan. 22, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Toshio Hosokawa: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1
Stefan Dohr, Momo Kodama, Anssi Karttunen, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Jun Märkl
Classical - Released by Naxos on Mar. 3, 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Hans Werner Henze: Heliogabalus Imperator. Works for Orchestra
BBC Symphony Orchestra, Oliver Knussen, Anssi Karttunen
Classical - Released by wergo on May 17, 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dutilleux: Correspondances
Barbara Hannigan, Anssi Karttunen, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Esa-Pekka Salonen
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Jan. 22, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
R. Schumann: Album for the Young, Op. 68 (Arr. A. Karttunen for String Trio)
Chamber Music - Released by Toccata Classics on Apr. 5, 2019
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rameau, J.-P.: L'Egyptienne
Classical - Released by Alba on Jul. 13, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
20th Century Solo Cello
Classical - Released by Fazer Records - Finlandia on Nov. 15, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hindemith, A. Merikanto, Lindberg, Zimmermann
Classical - Released by Fazer Records - Finlandia on Dec. 14, 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mystery Variations on Giuseppe Colombi's Chiacona
Classical - Released by Toccata Classics on Jan. 28, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
BERGMAN, E.: Karanssi / TIENSUU, J.: Plus II / KORTEKANGAS, O.: Iscrizione / SAARIAHO, K. Oi kuu / MERILAINEN, U.: Unes (Kriikku, Karttunen)
Chamber Music - Released by Ondine on Jan. 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
HAKOLA, K.: Clarinet Quintet / Ioco / Capriole (Kriikku, Karttunen, Avanti Quartet)
Kari Kriikku, Avanti Quartet, Anssi Karttunen
Chamber Music - Released by Ondine on Jan. 1, 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Froberger: Harpsichord Music
Classical - Released by Alba on Jan. 1, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Contemporary Music for Cello and Piano
Anssi Karttunen, Tuija Hakkila
Chamber Music - Released by Fazer Records - Finlandia on Nov. 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo