Anssi Karttunen

Anssi Karttunen (born 1960) is a Finnish cellist living in Paris.

He performs with most world-class orchestras in Europe, Asia and the Americas and at major festivals worldwide. His repertoire ranges from the early baroque to today and he is especially known for his collaboration with living composers.

He has given the world premiere of over 90 works for cello as a soloist and chamber musician - inspiring a large number of present-day composers to dedicate their works to him such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Tan Dun, Rolf Wallin and Luca Francesconi.

Between 1994 and 1998 Mr Karttunen was the artistic director of the Avanti! Chamber orchestra. He was the artistic director of the Helsinki Biennale (1995, 1997) and the Suvisoitto-festival in Porvoo, Finland (1994-1997).

Anssi Karttunen was the principal cellist of the London Sinfonietta (1999-2005).

His teachers included Erkki Rautio, William Pleeth, Jacqueline du Pré and Tibor de Machula.

External links

• Karttunen.org, the cellist's official website