Since his debut with the Royal Stockolm Philharmonic in 1981, Roland Pöntinen has performed with major orchestras throughout the world. He has been invited to many prestigious festivals including Schleswig-Holstein, Verbier and Mostly Mozart Festival, N.Y. and worked with conductors like Esa-Pekka Salonen, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Evgeny Svetlanov and Leif Segerstam to name a few. Highlights include performances with the Philharmonia Orchestra in Paris and London, Los Angeles Philharmonic in the Hollywood Bowl, with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra in Glasgow and Edinburgh as well as appearances at the London Proms where he has played both the Grieg Piano Concerto and the Ligeti Piano Concerto.
Pöntinen has given recitals in New York (The Frick Collection), London (Wigmore Hall), Bogotá, Istanbul, Stockholm and the Verbier Festival. Often immersed in large scale projects he has recently performed the complete cycles of Beethoven Sonatas and Années de Pèlerinage by Liszt.
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Roland Pöntinen is also active as a composer and his Blue Winter was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Wolfgang Sawallisch at Carnegie Hall in 1998.
His latest work, L’heure bleue for trombone and piano, dedicated to Christian Lindberg, was premiered in 2021. He has also arranged music by Legrand, Joni Mitchell and Weill for Håkan Hardenberger and Academy of St Martin in the Fields.
Pöntinen is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and in 2002 he received the Litteris et Artibus-a royal medal for recognition of eminent skills in the artistic field.
Opening speech
Åse Kleveland
Johannes Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 78
James Ehnes (violin), Yeol-Eum Son (piano)
György Ligeti: Mysteries of the Macabre
Håkan Hardenberger (trumpet), Roland Pöntinen (piano)
Interval
Johannes Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34
Dover Quartet (string quartet), Leif Ove Andsnes (piano)
Johannes Brahms: Cello Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 38
Julia Hagen (cello), Roland Pöntinen (piano)
Johannes Brahms: Piano Trio No. 2 in C Major, Op. 87
James Ehnes (violin), Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello), Yeol-Eum Son (piano)
Toru Takemitsu: Paths
Håkan Hardenberger (trumpet)
Johannes Brahms arr. Eusebius Mandyezewski: "Herzlich tut mich verlangen" from 11 Choral Preludes for Organ, Op. 122
Yeol-Eum Son (piano), Roland Pöntinen (piano)
Paul Hindemith: Sonata for Trumpet and Piano (1939)
Håkan Hardenberger (trumpet), Leif Ove Andsnes (piano)
Interval
Johannes Brahms: String Sextet No. 1 in B-flat major, Op. 18
Dover Quartet (string quartet), Tabea Zimmermann (viola), Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello)
Johannes Brahms: Scherzo, WoO. 2, from "F-A-E" Sonata for Violin and Piano
Svetlin Roussev (violin), Yeol-Eum Son (piano)
Johannes Brahms: String Quartet in A minor, Op. 51 No. 2
Dover Quartet (string quartet)
György Ligeti: Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano (1982)
David Guerrier (horn), Guro Kleven Hagen (violin), Bertrand Chamayou (piano)
György Ligeti: Artikulation (1958)
Electronic piece - visuals on screen by artist Rainer Wehinger
György Ligeti: Etude No. 2 Cordes à vide
Franz Liszt: Bagatelle sans tonalité (1885)
György Ligeti: Etude No. 4 Fanfares
Franz Liszt: Nuages gris (1881)
György Ligeti: Etude No. 5 Arc-en-ciel
György Ligeti: Etude No. 6 Automne à Varsovie
Roland Pöntinen (piano)
Clara Schumann: Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 17
Guro Kleven Hagen (violin), Julia Hagen (cello), Yeol-Eum Son (piano)
Interval
Johannes Brahms: Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor, Op. 60
Bertrand Chamayou (piano), Guro Kleven Hagen (violin), Tabea Zimmermann (viola), Sheku Kanneh-Mason (cello)
