introduction

Now in his mid-twenties, the Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen is striking out a distinctive path in both mainstream and contemporary repertoire. “I try to explore all kinds of music, since every era has something to give us. In fact, it very often happens that a piece I don’t find too exciting initially becomes a favourite of mine once I have studied it in depth. I often try to include pieces from beyond the core repertoire in my recital programmes. Pianists are fortunate to have such a broad range of pieces to choose from, and quite a few of them deserve to be played more often.”

His approach to building a programme – combined with his thrilling musicianship – prompted the following reaction from the New York Times after his US debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2004: “If we needed proof that exciting new talent is in the pipeline, there was the marvellous American debut of Juho Pohjonen at Weill Recital Hall. Mr Pohjonen offered a formidable mixed program, topped by thrilling accounts of two fiendishly difficult works by a fellow Finn, Esa-Pekka Salonen.’

champions

Salonen, now Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra, has become something of a mentor for the pianist. He happens to be an alumnus of the same school in Helsinki that Juho attended – the Sibelius Academy, but it took the intervention of the Hungarian pianist András Schiff to bring the two Finnish musicians together.

“Andràs Schiff has always been one of my favourite pianists, so I was delighted to become acquainted with him at a masterclass he gave at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki in 2003. Since then he has invited me to his courses elsewhere in Europe, such as in Lucerne and Schwarzenberg, and I’ve also had some private lessons with him. Salonen’s music became familiar to me when I was 16 years old; I selected his piece Yta II for a national piano competition in Finland, where I was awarded a special prize for the best performance of a contemporary Finnish work. However, I didn’t get to know Salonen personally until 2004 – and it was Mr Schiff who introduced me to him. Schiff found out that I was about to perform all Salonen’s piano works at my debut recital in New York, and he thought I should first play them to the composer. Naturally, I was excited to have a chance to meet the composer of music I had studied for nearly 10 years. Eventually, I played the pieces to him, and he liked the performance -- so much so that he later brought his manager to my recital in Helsinki, and that is how I came to be with the Van Walsum agency. Since then I’ve had the pleasure of working with Salonen a couple of times, first with the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra at Los Angeles’ Walt Disney Concert Hall and then with the Philharmonia Orchestra in Cardiff and Palermo.”

contemporary music

Salonen is not the only contemporary composer to feature in Juho’s programming. “When coming up with a recital programme I'm not usually concerned with having a single theme, such as a certain mood, composer, or a musical form – instead, I try to bring out the diversity that exists in the classical and contemporary music, while still searching for relationships between the pieces of different eras and composers. Contemporary music continues to be an essential part of today’s musical life – just like it has always been – and I follow the scene with great interest. As far as possible, I try to include contemporary music in my recital programmes: apart from being refreshing, it stimulates the audience to examine more classical works from a different perspective. However, the challenge involved with studying a contemporary work is often substantially greater than with preparing a classical piece, and this can make the learning process very laborious. It’s important for me to really understand what I’m playing, and because of the complexity of modern music, it takes quite a while to analyse every detail to a satisfactory extent.”

musical roots

Juho acquired his disciplines at Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy, which he attended from an early age: “I started to play violin in a children’s music school at the age of two-and-a-half. My brother – now also a professional pianist and a composer – was already studying piano at the Sibelius Academy, so it was a natural decision for me to play an instrument as well. When I was four, I began to study piano at the suggestion of the piano teacher in the music school. Soon after I entered the Academy itself as a demonstration student, and at the age of eight I started in its Junior Academy, both as a violinist and a pianist. From 2000 onwards I continued my studies in the Department of Piano Music, and I finally received my Master’s Degree in August 2008.

“Naturally, the two most influential figures for me were my regular piano teachers at the Sibelius Academy: Meri Louhos, from 1989 to 1995 and then Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna from 1995 onwards. Even though they are very close colleagues and have written books together, they do not actually represent a single piano school. Both of them have a very rich musical (and non-musical) background, and they have collected influences from Europe, Russia, both Americas and even the Far East. Their approach is centred on expression rather than method, and this brought plenty of variety to my studies.”

Finland

Finland’s prowess in producing world-class musicians has become proverbial. “On a practical level, the country’s success would not have been possible without its advanced music education system. For example, from the age of eight I was able to study two instruments, music theory, composition and more with university-level teachers at the Sibelius Academy’s state-funded Junior Academy. On a more philosophical level, I believe that Finland’s relative isolation from the rest of the world is – perhaps counter-intuitively – the key to its success on the international music scene.

“In today’s world where originality is more and more highly valued, it is easy for a Finn to be original: geographic isolation has preserved many unique features of our culture, and this enables us to look at Western art from an original viewpoint and create something new from it. We don’t have a burden of tradition which would force us to do things in a certain manner. Instead, we try to express ourselves as genuinely and sincerely as possible. That is not to say that we are not aware of tradition, though. In fact, Finns are eager to learn as much as they can from other cultures. As a small nation, we are not self-sufficient. We understand that others have much to offer to us – and also that we have something to give in return.”

key moments

Juho has several competition victories under his belt – First Prize at the 2004 Nordic Piano Competition (Nyborg, Denmark)¸ the Prokofiev Prize at the 2003 AXA Dublin International Piano Competition, and a prize at the 2002 Helsinki International Maj Lind Competition – but he has considered views on the place of competitions in the context of broader musical life. “From the perspective of the audience, competitions can provide an opportunity to hear several interpretations of a same piece, to make a distinction between different schools of playing and to simply enjoy a variety of performances. For me, competitions have presented a fine opportunity to learn new repertoire, listen to other pianists and gain some stage experience. Beyond that, I'm not sure if I really have gained that much from them. I think that in terms of career-building, competitions are maybe no longer the way to go – there are so many of them nowadays that individual events inevitably lose significance. A competition trophy can help with opening the first door, but many more doors can be opened by a well-played concert.”

Beyond his New York debut in 2004, Juho cites the following key moments in his career: in 2006, a tour of Japan with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä; in 2007, the world premiere in Copenhagen of a piano concerto by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, a date with the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen in Los Angeles, and a debut recital at the Lucerne Piano Festival, and in 2008, concerts with Salonen and the Philharmonia in Cardiff and Palermo, his debut recital at London’s Wigmore Hall, and concerto dates with the Bournemouth Symphony and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Important engagements in the 2008/2009 season include two Mozart recitals in Helsinki and his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing Salonen's Piano Concerto under the baton of Lionel Bringuier.

“Of course, every public performance has the potential to be a key moment – at least that’s how I treat it – but many key moments happen off-stage, such as inner discoveries related to piano playing: my ambitions relate above all to my development as a musician and as an individual. A successful concert is defined by how one feels after the performance has finished. Piano playing can be very skilful, but can still leave the listener feeling empty. I receive something valuable through music – and I hope that each listener will feel that they have too.”