Aapo Häkkinen

Aapo Häkkinen is a distinguished chamber musician and director and Finland’s leading force in early music. He is Artistic Director of Helsinki Baroque Orchestra and of the Helsinki Music Centre Early Music Series as well as the Janakkala Baroque Festival.

Häkkinen has collaborated with many renowned artists and orchestras such as Pierre Hantaï, Erich Höbarth, María Cristina Kiehr, Dmitry Sinkovsky and Musica Aeterna, Orchestra del Teatro Olimpico di Vicenza, and Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa. He has appeared as a soloist with various orchestras around the world. Besides the harpsichord, he regularly performs on the organ, clavichord, and fortepiano. He also teaches at the Sibelius Academy and gives master classes internationally.

Häkkinen has received a number of international awards for his achievements in early music. Third Practice (2019) is his first collaboration with TSC. www.aapohakkinen.com

 

Founded in 1997, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra is a new-generation line-up offering audiences a chance to enjoy Early Music in a fresh, distinctive presentation. The orchestra strives to discover new and communicative perspectives on the performance of old masterworks. Aapo Häkkinen has led the Orchestra as its Artistic Director since 2003.

In Finland, ground-breaking productions of Monteverdi’s and Handel’s operas have earned the orchestra wide recognition. Since 2011, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra’s monthly series at the Helsinki Music Centre has reached large, new, and enthusiastic audiences for early music. Recurring soloists and guest directors include Franco Fagioli, Isabelle Faust, Reinhard Goebel, Werner Güra, René Jacobs, Julia Lezhneva, Riccardo Minasi, Enrico Onofri, Valer Sabadus, Carolyn Sampson and Skip Sempé.

Helsinki Baroque Orchestra’s performances and recordings have won international acclaim. The ensemble has gained a reputation as a major exponent of Baltic and German Baroque music. The Orchestra has performed at venues from the Cologne Philharmonie to Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and at major festivals in cities such as Bergen, Bremen, Rheingau, and Jerusalem.

The Orchestra has launched its own midsummer festival, the Janakkala Baroque Festival, in the idyllic setting of Janakkala’s medieval stone church. www.hebo.fi