Piano Masterclass by Janne Mertanen

Pianist Janne Mertanen studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where his teachers included Erik T. Tawastjerna and Dmitri Baskirov. He then completed his studies with Lazar Berman at the Accademia Pianistica in Imola, Italy.

Mertanen came to the attention of the wider musical public in 1992 with a win at the International Chopin Competition in Darmstadt, Germany. In the same year, he also won the First Prize at the Nyborg Nordic Competition. He also made his debut at the Wigmore Hall in London in October 1994 with a programme of works by Chopin. In March 2010, he made his South American debut as the soloist of Schumann’s piano concerto with the Orchestra of the National Theater of Brazil conducted by Ira Levine. In 2014, he made his solo debut in Japan with the Tokyo New City Orchestra. Recital appearances have taken him around most of Europe, Canada, America, Australia, and Asia.

Mertanen was selected as the Young Artist of the 1^st Espoo International Piano Festival in May 1991. His first recording of Chopin’s works was released in 1994 by Finlandia Records (Warner). His recording of Chopin's Nocturnes Vol. 1 and 2 (Alba Records) received a diploma award at the 6^th International Record Competition Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric Chopin, while his album of Chopin's piano concertos (ABCD 247) was released in February 2008. In 2010, Mertanen released recordings of piano works by Sibelius, as well as Nino Rota's piano concertos (with the Tampere Philharmonic conducted by Hannu Lintu). In 2011, he published a recording of Chopin's works for piano and orchestra (with the Turku Filharmonic conducted by Jani Telaranta), while his recordings of piano concertos by Grieg and Schumann (with the Gävle Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hannu Koivula) were released in 2013. Mertanen is the Artistic Director of Joensuu Music Festival, and a Steinway Artist.

Programme

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat, K. 595 (I. Allegro)
Liu Qingqing

Frédéric Chopin
Etude in B minor, Op. 25 No. 10
Dean Fu

Johannes Brahms
Rhapsody in B minor, Op. 79 No. 1
Anne Maria Lim

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