Ismo Eskelinen

Ismo Eskelinen

Ismo Eskelinen is acclaimed as one of the world’s finest classical guitarists. He has been a pioneer in bringing classical guitar to a wider audience, playing often as an orchestra soloist, chamber musician and in collaboration with some of the most distinguished contemporary composers. His impressive list of recordings includes two Bach albums, the first of which won the Finnish Emma prize in the category of best classical album in 2014. His latest release (2018) is a concerto recording for BIS with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hannu Lintu.

Eskelinen has performed at venues such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Royal Festival Hall and the Théâtre de la Monnaie. He was the first guitarist to be invited as soloist at the Music Centre in Helsinki with both resident orchestras, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Recent soloist engagements include the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London, NWD Philharmonie in Germany, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Lahti, and the Chamber Orchestra of Lapland with conductors such as Sakari Oramo, Hannu Lintu, Okko Kamu, John Storgårds, Olli Mustonen, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, and Ernest Martínez-Izquierdo.

As an active chamber musician, Eskelinen plays duos with violinists Pekka Kuusisto and Karen Gomyo. He is a regular guest on several chamber music festivals, such as Naantali and Moritzburg, and he has been the first ever guitarist to be invited to the Moritzburg, Dresden, Charlottesville, Mainz, Schaubeck, and Büsingen festivals.

Eskelinen’s repertoire spans from 16th-century music to the present day and he has been equally acclaimed for his performances of Bach and for his premieres of works written for him by composers such as Einojuhani Rautavaara, Aulis Sallinen, Jukka Tiensuu, Kalevi Aho, Olli Mustonen, and Sebastian Fagerlund.

Eskelinen is the lecturer-in-charge of guitar at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and the artistic director of the Riihimäki summer concert series and the Sonkajärvi Soi Festival in Finland. As the artist-in-residence at Verkatehdas, Hämeenlinna, he planned a Global Guitar Concert Series for seasons 2016-2017.

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