Atte Kilpeläinen started studying the violin at the Länsi-Uusimaa Music Institute. He concluded his studies with degrees from both the Cologne University of Music and the Sibelius Academy, graduating in 2004 with highest honours.
Kilpeläinen has been the principal viola of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra since 2005. He has served as guest principal viola of many orchestras, including the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. As a soloist, Atte has performed with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Kuopio Symphony Orchestra and the Oulu Symphony Orchestra, among others.
Atte Kilpeläinen has been a member of the string quartet Meta4 since 2006, performing actively with the quartet both in Finland and abroad. Meta4 has also been chosen as the principal guest conductor of Jyväskylä Sinfonia for two years, until the spring of 2024.
Atte Kilpeläinen joined the teaching staff of the Sibelius Academy in 2012 and has also taught at several Finnish summer courses. Atte is also a member of the artistic committee of the Helsinki Seriös chamber music series.
Sound of Passion
14.6.
“These notes of mine kiss all of you. They call for you passionately,” wrote Leoš Janáček to his young beloved in the cover letter of his string quartet. Richard Wagner’s haunting Tristan and Isolde also deals with lust and longing for one’s beloved. American composer Amy Beach’s piano quintet, full of late Romantic passion, has become a favourite with audiences and critics alike in recent years.
In honorem maris
15.6.
Hardly any element of nature resounds in music as clearly as the sea: its waves, its peace, its endlessness – and its unstoppable power. The soft swells and treacherous undertows of the traditional In Honorem Maris concert is provided by the music of Debussy, Fagerlund and Ravel.
Moments in Time
17.6.
In Naantali, the annual cycle does not follow familiar paths. Uneven rhythms and fiery pace take over Sebastian Fagerlund’s Octet and Astor Piazzolla’s Winter, while Vernon Duke takes a Broadway bathed in light to a Paris in spring. Experimental music master George Crumb’s haunting Music for a Summer Evening resonates with every listener.
