Jaakko Kuusisto

"The music here covers more than forty years, even if Aho’s perennial youthfulness makes that seem improbable. [- -] The performances are as full of feeling as the music, and the recorded sound is bright and immediate."

"I knew Järnefelt for a fine composer and was looking forward to my encounter with this score, but I was taken aback by the sheer quality of the music."

Violinist, conductor, composer, arranger and music administrator Jaakko Kuusisto has been seeking to find more time for composing. His opera Jää [Ice], based on the novel by Ulla-Lena Lundberg, will be premiered at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet on 25 January.

Lauri Porra reveals in the first sentence of his booklet commentary that he is the great-grandson of Jean Sibelius – but it’s more by way of explaining his musical background than to trade on the relationship.

At closer range, Jaakko and Pekka Kuusisto do not even look alike. But it's been hard to convince the media that one is Jaakko and the other is Pekka (see VMQ 3/96). To start with, they have both in turn taken first prize in the national Kuopio Violin Competition. Then in 1990 Jaakko came fourth in the Sibelius Violin Competition at the age of 16, to be followed five years later by Pekka, who hit the jackpot when he was 19.