CONTACT

info at finnconcert.fi
www.jounisomero.com

Forthcoming Releases/tulevia julkaisuja

MY FAVORITE SCHUMANN

Jouni Somero plays Schumann
Arabeske op.18 Carnaval op.9 Etudes Symphoniques op.13
AVAILABLE NOW( digital Spotify etc) Order www.fuga.fi

LOVE STORY

Jouni Somero piano
FCRCD-9764
AVAILABLE NOW (digital Spotify etc. 4.12.2020)
Order: www.fuga.fi

JOHANNES BRAHMS

Sonata No.3 op.5 Händel Variations op.24
Jouni Somero piano
FCRCD-9763
AVAILABLE NOW
Order: www.fuga.fi

KARL COLLAN LAULUJA-SONGS

Eilamaria Leskinen sopraano Jouni Somero piano
FCRCD-9765
AVAILABLE NOW
Order: www.fuga.fi

BRAHMS RACHMANINOV

Brahms:3 Intermezzi op.117 Rachmaninov: Sonata No.1 d-moll op.28
AVAILABLE NOW
DIGITAL 20.9.2019

Bach to You

Jouni Somero, piano
FCRCD-9761
AVAILABLE NOW
Order: www.fuga.fi

CÉSAR CUI 25 PRELUDES OP.64

Jouni Somero, piano
FCRCD-9759
AVAILABLE NOW (digital 4.1.2019)
Order www.fuga.fi

Reviews


Sergei Bortkiewicz: Piano Works vol.1-4
In general, the Finnish pianist Jouni Somero plays the music more deliberately than Trapmann, which usually translates to slower tempi. Somero seems more in touch with the spirit of the composer; he never drags, but finds enough space to let the music bloom. He uses a wider dynamic range and seems more intereted in exploring the colors of the instrument. Trapmann, whom I praised in my review of his set, now sounds a bit glip in comparison, as if he is reading though the music in order to complete the set. Somero does the music greater justice, compelling the listener to want to hear more. Fanfare Magazin USA Jan/Feb. 2011

Vol.1-2

Sound quality is very good, though in Volume 2, the piano does sound slightly laboured. The CD booklets are decidedly pro forma. Those able to read Somero's Finnish original do get more information for their money - the Finnish provides extra biographical paragraphs and a cursory description of the works in Somero's programme. There are typos in the English version that occur in both volumes - for example, one instance in which the composer's name is spelt 'Bortkiwicz'.

For anyone who relishes unforgettable melodies harmonised with imagination in superbly crafted, often profound miniatures, these two volumes are unmissable. This promises to be a marvellous series. Musicweb International 11/2011

Read more:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Dec11/Bortkiewicz_pno_5_fcrcd9736.htm
Vol.5

All three works in Somero's recital are superbly lyrical, with individual pieces characterised, almost without exception, by unforgettable melody, delectable harmony and irrepressible rhythms sensuously swathed in a mellifluous timelessness, with the well-judged contrastive flourish or outburst of scintillating virtuosity and dramatic intensity. Grieg, Schumann, Liszt, Alkan and early Skriabin are all sometimes brought to mind, but on this disc it is Chopin's spirit that dwells again in Bortkiewicz - whose originality is, nevertheless, unimpeachable.

On the whole, though, this makes five out of five quality discs, all of which have much pleasure and interest to offer pianophiles in particular and music-lovers in general. This latest gem-studded volume itself verges on the indispensable. Musicweb International 12/2011

Read more:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Dec11/Bortkiewicz_pno_5_fcrcd9736.htm

Vol.1 & 5;

While Lamentations et Consolations has been recorded before by Stephen Coombs on Hyperion, it appears the other works on the current disc aren?t currently available, making this a significant release. That?s especially true since Finnish pianist Jouni Somero, a student of György Cziffra, has Bortkiewicz?s late-Romantic pianistic lexicon at his fingertips. Somero is a fine colorist and, being a Cziffra student, can do full justice to the Lisztian strain so prominent in Bortkiewicz?s early style, including, of course, the explosive virtuosic turns here and there in this collection.

It?s very appealing that Volume 1 includes works from early and late in Bortkiewicz?s career. Presumably, future installments will follow the same course. With a varied program, superior pianism, and natural piano sound, this first volume bodes well for the rest of the series. Stay tuned!
Audiophile Audition 10.3.2012 Read more:
http://audaud.com/2012/03/bortkiewicz-piano-works-vols-1-5-jonni-somero-p-fc-records-finland-2-cds/



An Anthology of Finnish Piano Music Vol.1-5 Rewie in Music web international 11/2011:

"A generous and adventurous cross-section of Finnish piano music in elite versions and healthy open recordings."

Read more:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Nov11/Anthology_Finnish.htm

Rebikov: Piano Works Rewie in MusicWeb international 4/12 "Finnish pianist Jouni
Somero is a pianistic powerhouse. He vies in multifarious enthusiasm for neglected composers with the likes of Michael Ponti in his Vox piano concerto series in the 1970s. He has already given us five volumes of Finnish piano music, a series of eight volumes of Bortkiewicz as well as single disc selections by Godard and many others. This is the fifth disc in his Russian Project. Previous instalments were: FCRCD-9720 Tchaikovsky 1; FCRCD-9724 Arensky; FCRCD-9728 Tchaikovsky 2; FCRCD-9732 Rubinstein"
Read more:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2012/Apr12/REBIKOV_piano_FCRCD9739.htm

Salmenhaara: Piano Chamber
Music: "Very nice, Romantic sounding and easy to listen to" Read more:
http://audaud.com/2012/06/erkki-salmenhaara-piano-chamber-music-sonata-for-violin-and-piano-sonata-per-cello-e-pianoforte-trois-scenes-de-nuit-sonata-no-2-jouni-somero-pianoraymond-cox-v/

Toivo Timoteus Kuula (7.7.1883-18.5.1918)

Toivo Timoteus Kuula (7.7.1883-18.5.1918) was a Finnish composer and conductor of the late-Romantic and early-modern periods, who emerged in the wake of Jean Sibelius, under whom he studied privately from 1906 to 1908. The core of Kuula's oeuvre are his many works for voice and orchestra, in particular the Stabat mater (1914-18; completed by Madetoja), The Sea-Bathing Maidens (1910), Son of a Slave (1910), and The Maiden and the Boyar's Son (1912). In addition he also composed to Ostrobothnian Suites for orchestra and left an unfinished symphony at the time of his death in 1918. He was born in the Vehkakoski village of the Alavus town and registered as a native in the city of Vaasa (then Nikolainkaupunki), when Finland still was a Grand Duchy under Russian rule. He is known as a colorful and passionate portrayer of Finnish nature and people. Kuula became Jean Sibelius's first composition student. He is best remembered for his large output of melodic choir and vocal works. His instrumental works include two Ostrobothnian Suites for orchestra, a violin sonata, a piano trio, and an unfinished Symphony. Kuula's major choral work is often considered the cantata Stabat Mater, which was completed in spring 1915 (original version, later lost) but revised, beginning 1917 and unfinished at the time of his death. He also wrote a few dozen highly artistic piano works. A Swedish critic once said that Kuula's music reaches parts of the human spirit where one is forced to deep examination of one's self.

Kuula was known to be a fierce Fennoman. He died in the provincial hospital in Viipuri in 1918 after being mortally wounded 18 days earlier on Walpurgis Night by a bullet fired by a Jäger. The bullet was fired as a result of a quarrel that happened at the Hotel Seurahuone in conjunction with the first victory celebration of the White victory in the Civil War of Finland. Kuula is buried in Hietaniemi cemetery, Helsinki.