About the competition
Järvenpää Sibelius Weeks is arranging the competition in co-operation with the City of Järvenpää. The responsibility for planning the content lies with the competition committee. The Artistic Director for the competition is Prof. Petteri Salomaa tells about the background of the competition:
“There was, it was felt, a clear opening among the many singing competitions held in Finland for an international one truly focusing on chamber music for singer-pianist duos and weighted towards the vocal music of Sibelius,” he says. “Lied, as an integral genre of singer-pianist art, has been reinforcing its profile in recent times as an intimate yet all the more intensively affecting and demanding art form. Sibelius’s extensive vocal output, an important category in his music, is a magnificent embodiment of the Finnish and Nordic vocal tradition and as a whole deserves greater global recognition, over and above the most popular songs already widely performed.
“It thus seemed logical to take the competition in this chosen direction. Finnish audiences will thus have a chance to hear talented young singers and pianists from across the world, and artists the world over to become familiar with Sibelius’s vocal works. The organisers are pleased and gratified that the City of Järvenpää, conscious and proud of its responsibility to uphold the Sibelius tradition, has lent the competition its active support.”
Competition committee
Mia Kari, Chair
Prof. Petteri Salomaa, Artistic Director
Terhi Luukkonen, Secretary General
Pirre Raijas
Mikko Haapaniemi
Heli Ahvenainen-Saaristo
Companions
Major Companion:
City of Järvenpää
Competition venue
The competition is to be held at the Sibelius Hall in Järvenpää, home town of Jean Sibelius. The acoustics at this hall in the Järvenpää Hall complex are among the finest in Finland, and not far away is the maestro’s former home, Ainola.
Rehearsals for the competition duos will be organized in Järvenpää. The rehearsals will be started on Wednesday April 23, 2025.
Competitors’ accommodation
Competitors will be organized free accommodation by the competition organization. More information about the accommodation possibilities will be published later.
