- Source: Janne Mertanen
Janne Juhani Mertanen (born 28 August 1967 in Joensuu, Finland) is a Finnish classical pianist. He has studied at the Joensuu Conservatory under Matti Haapasalo and at the Sibelius Academy as a student of, among others, Erik T. Tawaststjerna. The pianist, who specializes in Chopin, made his debut at London's Wigmore Hall with a Chopin program in 1994.
Life and career
Janne Mertanen has studied at the Joensuu Conservatory as a student of Matti Haapasalo and at the Sibelius Academy where his teachers included Erik Thomas Tawaststjerna and Dmitri Bashkirov. He then completed his studies with Lazar Berman at the Accademia Pianistica in Imola, Italy. He made his debut at Wigmore Hall in London in 1994 with a Chopin program. 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. In 2014, he made his solo debut in Japan with the Tokyo New City Orchestra. Janne Mertanen is best known for his performances and recordings of Frederic Chopin. Mertanen is also an Artistic Director of the music festival Joensuun Musiikkijuhlat, which has presented various well known artists like Klaus Mäkelä, Seela Sella and Iiro Rantala.
Early life
When Janne Mertanen was a child, he initially wanted to become a tennis player. However at the age of 12 he started to play piano and decided to make it his career.
Discography
Most of Mertanen's recordings are published either by Sony Classical or Finnish label Alba Records.
Chopin: Mertanen-Chopin. Sony Classical 2023
Sibelius: Finnish Folk Songs & Discoveries. Sony Classical 2021
Kaski: Yö meren rannalla, Heino Kaski Piano Works. Alba 2018
Palmgren: Piano Concertos 4-5, Pori Sinfonietta-Jan Söderblom. Alba 2017
Sibelius: Piano Works 5 cd. Sony Classical 2015
Grieg/Schumann: Piano Concertos, Gävle Symphony Orchestra-Hannu Koivula. Alba 2013
Chopin: Grand Chopin, Works for piano & Orchestra. Turku Philharmonic-Jani Telaranta. Alba 2011
Nino Rota: Piano Concertos e & C / Tampere Philharmonic-Hannu Lintu. Alba 2010
Sibelius: Piano Works. Presence Records 2010
Chopin: Piano Concertos 1 & 2 / Joensuu City Orchestra-Hannu Koivula. Alba 2008
Chopin: Nocturnes vol.2 Alba 2003 ("Grand Prix du Disque Frederic Chopin" - award, Warsaw 2005)
Chopin: Nocturnes vol.1 Alba 2001 ("Grand Prix du Disque Frederic Chopin" - award, Warsaw 2005)
Romantic Finnish Piano (Madetoja, Sibelius etc) Macedonia Records 2001
Chopin: 10 Mazurkas, 3 Etudes etc. Alba 2000
Kokkonen: Piano Works. Alba 1998
Satie: Satierik - Piano Works. Alba 1997
Chopin Recital. Finlandia Records 1994
Competitions
International Chopin Competition Darmstadt, 1992, 1st place
Nyborg Nordic Piano Competition (Denmark), 1992, 1st place
References
External links
jannemertanen.com — official website