Ernest Chausson’s exceptional concerto for violin, piano, and string quartet brings together top artists with pianist Paavali Jumppanen. The Finnish-Polish chamber ensemble is now performing in Finland for the first time. “I got to know these wonderful and superbly talented Polish musicians when I accepted a gig at the Ensemble Festival in Poland in 2018,” says Jumppanen. The festival’s regular pianist had to take a year off, and Jumppanen was invited to replace him.

According to Jumppanen, the invitation was a stroke of luck, as the group worked together extremely well right from the start, and Jumppanen has since continued to collaborate closely with both violinist Jakub Jakowicz and the Lutoslawski Quartet. Among other things, they have recorded Chausson’s concerto, which can also be heard in Helsinki, and played several concerts in Poland and Australia.

“I am very grateful and excited that we can now bring this program to Helsinki Seriös, as the concert is the Lutoslawski Quartet’s debut in Finland. Jakub has already charmed audiences at the House of Nobility Helsinki and the Naantali Music Festival, among other venues,” Jumppanen notes.

“Poland has been a huge discovery for me in recent years! Of course, I was familiar with the country’s pianists, starting with Chopin, and having studied for three years under Krystian Zimerman in Basel. But the region’s incredibly rich tradition of string players only really opened up to me when I started working with these truly brilliant musicians. We know from history that when we list the great violinists of the almost mythical era of the early 20th century, they are almost without exception from Poland, Lithuania, or Ukraine. I tend to think that the situation hasn’t changed much and that the region still produces one virtuoso string player after another. So I hope that the people of Helsinki will find their way to our concert in January and come and see for themselves!”

Jakub Jakowicz has been playing the violin since the age of 11. He has performed as a soloist with numerous orchestras around the world. He was the first violinist of the Lutosławski Quartet from 2008 to 2014, during which time he recorded all of Grazyna Bacewicz’s string quartets, among other works. He has been a member of the Zehetmair Quartet since 2006. Jakowicz, who has received numerous awards, is a professor of violin at the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw and the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice.

Founded in 2007, the Lutosławski Quartet has performed at major music festivals and concert halls around the world. The wide-ranging quartet has collaborated with jazz musicians such as Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor, and Uri Caine, and considers it important to promote Polish classical music in its repertoire.