Ephraim, Wis. (May 5, 2022) – Peninsula Music Festival President & CEO, Christoph Ptack, today announced that Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen will replace Peter Jablonski for the Grand Finale concert of the Symphony Series “NORDIC GREATS” featuring Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor. Additional programming for this concert includes Sibelius Finlandia, and Nielsen Symphony No. 4. Reserve your series subscription or single tickets today by calling the Box Office at (920) 854-4060 or visit www.musicfestival.com.
Mr. Pohjonen is regarded as one of today’s most exciting instrumentalists. He performs widely in Europe, Asia, and North America, collaborating with symphony orchestras and playing in recital and chamber settings. An ardent exponent of Scandinavian music, Pohjonen’s growing discography offers a showcase of music by Finnish compatriots such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kaija Saariaho and Jean Sibelius.
In 2021-2022 Pohjonen performs Daniel Bjarnason’s concerto for piano Processions with the Helsinki Philharmonic with the composer at the podium. Additional orchestral highlights include performances of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Rune Bergmann and the Colorado Symphony as well as performances of Mendelssohn’s concerto for violin, piano, and strings, beside Erin Keefe, Maestro Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra.
Continuing his long-standing relationship with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Pohjonen performs at Alice Tully Hall on two separate occasions this season in programs featuring works by Stravinsky, Debussy, Shostakovich, and Mendelssohn. Additional chamber projects include a performance at Parlance Chamber Concerts with Danbi Um and Paul Huang and Cliburn Concerts with Danbi and Karim Sulayman. Juho will perform recitals in Helsinki and at Vancouver Recital Society.
Following the September 2019 performance of Grieg’s Piano Concerto with Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra, Pohjonen debuted with the New Jersey Symphony performing Grieg, conducted by Markus Stenz; and with the Rochester Philharmonic in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with Fabien Gabel. Pohjonen made his Philadelphia recital debut at the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and then returned in recital to Howland Chamber Music Circle in NY. An alumnus of The Bowers Program (formerly CMS Two), Pohjonen enjoys an ongoing association with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, with whom he played two performances in New York’s Alice Tully Hall and Chicago’s Harris Theater.
Pohjonen’s illustrious resume of concerto performances reveals a musician in demand internationally. He has appeared as a soloist with Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, National Arts Centre Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, Finnish Radio Symphony & Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestras, Philharmonia Orchestra of London, with the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York City, and many additional North American orchestras. This includes the Atlanta Symphony where Pohjonen has performed three times. Pohjonen has collaborated with today’s foremost conductors, including Marin Alsop, Lionel Bringuier, Marek Janowski, Fabien Gabel, Kirill Karabits, EsaPekka Salonen, Markus Stenz, and Pinchas Zukerman.
The pianist has previously appeared in recital at New York’s Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, and in San Francisco, La Jolla, Detroit, Savannah, and Vancouver. He made his London debut at Wigmore Hall, and has performed recitals throughout Europe including in Antwerp, Hamburg, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, and Warsaw. Festival appearances include Lucerne; Savonlinna Finland; Bergen, Norway; and Mecklenberg-Vorpommern in Germany, as well as the Gilmore Keyboard Festival. With CMS he has performed significant chamber music repertoire with Escher and Calidore String Quartets in New York, Chicago, and at Wolf Trap, among many other programs.
Pohjonen began his piano studies in 1989 at the Junior Academy of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and subsequently earned a Master’s Degree from Meri Louhos and Hui-Ying LiuTawaststjerna at the Sibelius Academy in 2008. Pohjonen was selected by Sir Andras Schiff as the winner of the 2009 Klavier Festival Ruhr Scholarship and has won numerous prizes at International and Finnish competitions.
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