Jonathan Roozeman and Johannes Piirto - Kaiku (Echo): Finnish Contemporary Works for Cello (2026) [Hi-Res]

Finnish-Dutch cellist Jonathan Roozeman presents a programme featuring contemporary works for cello by Finnish composers. For some of the pieces, he is accompanied by pianist and composer Johannes Piirto. Centered around a sonata by music veteran Kalevi Aho, the program’s six works reflect the diversity of contemporary Finnish music, all having been composed within the last fifteen years.

Sauli Zinovjev’s “Sustained” appears as a ghostly, discordant, fragmented reflection of music from the Romantic period. Cecilia Damström’s “Aveo” was composed for people who suffer from long COVID and who have had to bid farewell to their normal lives. “Recitativo” by Sebastian Fagerlund, a commission from a cello competition, challenges not only the cellists’ mastery of their instrument but also their interpretative abilities.

“Sanasi, kiveen uponneet” by Outi Tarkiainen, a composer who brings to her music the perspective of someone born in the north, in Finnish Lapland, features powerful soundscapes inspired by natural phenomena as well as human themes touching on the deepest emotions of mankind.

The programme concludes with “We Lie Down Only to Get Up Again” by Lauri Porra, a composer who exemplifies the multifaceted nature of contemporary Finnish music. This work evokes the atmosphere of a summer morning with warmth, perhaps even with a touch of longing.