Jan-Erik Gustafsson

Jan-Erik Gustafsson is one of Finland’s most distinguished and internationally sought-after cellists, active as a soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. He began his studies at the West Helsinki Music Institute with Markku Luolajan-Mikkola and continued at the Edsberg Institute in Stockholm with Mikhail Homitser and Frans Helmerson, completing his soloist diploma in 1992.

He gained international recognition at the age of fifteen through his success in the EBU Young Musicians Competition in Copenhagen. Since then, he has appeared as a soloist with leading orchestras worldwide, including the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as nearly all Finnish orchestras. He has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Paavo Järvi, Osmo Vänskä, Klaus Mäkelä, and Leif Segerstam.

A highly respected chamber musician, Jan-Erik Gustafsson is a regular guest at international festivals and has collaborated with artists including Pinchas Zukerman, Leonidas Kavakos, Christian Tetzlaff, Leif Ove Andsnes, and Ivry Gitlis. He has made numerous critically acclaimed recordings for the Ondine label. He serves as Artistic Director of the Korsholm Music Festival (Musikfestspelen Korsholm) and plays a cello made in 1890 by Stefano Scarampella.

Anna-Liisa Bezrodny

Anna-Liisa Bezrodny (10.9.1981) is an Estonian violinist who was born into a family of distinguished musicians and grew up in Finland. She is currently a highly sought-after soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue around the world.

 

She began her violin studies at the age of two with Professor Ivi Tivik, and at the age of nine, she started studying at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, in the class of her parents, Professor Igor Bezrodny and Professor Mari Tampere-Bezrodny. Her later years (2001-) took her to London, where in 2006 she won the Guildhall School of Music and Drama’s most prestigious award, the Guildhall Gold Medal. Previous winners of this award include such masters as Bryn Terfel and Jacqueline du Pré.

 

Over the years, Anna-Liisa has performed as a soloist with various orchestras in some of the world’s most prestigious concert venues, including the Gewandhaus Leipzig, Royal Festival Hall, Barbican Hall, Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, Kölner Philharmonie, Cadogan Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Finlandia Hall, Estonia Concert Hall, the Grand Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and countless others. Anna-Liisa has worked with outstanding conductors such as Leif Segerstam, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Kristjan Järvi, Leonid Grin, Nikolay Alekseyev, Eri Klas, Okko Kamu, Olari Elts, Eugene Tzigane, Johannes Gustavsson, Taavi Oramo, Sian Edwards, Sascha Goetzel, Juha Kangas, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Arvo Volmer, Mihkel Kütson, among others.

 

She has recorded a CD for ALBA RECORDS with pianist Ivari Ilja, receiving acclaim worldwide (featuring works such as Elgar’s Sonata, Sibelius’s Humoresques, Prokofiev’s Sonata in D, and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Fantasy), recorded E. Tamberg’s Violin Concerto with Mihkel Kütson and the Vanemuine Orchestra, a DVD for ERP (Haydn’s and Mozart’s Violin Concertos), and most recently Mendelssohn’s Octet with Maxim Vengerov for DECCA Records, as well as Enescu’s early Quintet opus with Bayerische Rundfunk.

 

Anna-Liisa is a dedicated chamber musician, participating in numerous festivals worldwide. She has collaborated with many outstanding musicians, including Ivry Gitlis, Maxim Vengerov, Ida Haendel, Liana Isakadze, Alexander Rudin, Mackenzie Melemed, Jan-Erik Gustafsson, Peeter Laul, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Lisa Batiashvili, Gilles Apap, Sayaka Shoji, Víkingur Ólafsson, and many others. Her repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary music, including premieres by both Finnish and Estonian composers, such as Aulis Sallinen, Sebastian Fagerlund, Tõnu Kõrvits, Jaan Rääts, Harri Wessman, Rein Rannap, Ülo Krigul, among others.

 

In addition to her solo career, Anna-Liisa has taught at various institutions in different countries: the Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Purcell School in London. She has conducted masterclasses in Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Finland, Romania, Italy, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

 

Anna-Liisa Bezrodny is the new artistic director of the Tallinn Chamber Music Festival and a collaborator with the Estonian Sinfonietta. Her future plans include performing Sibelius’s Violin Concerto under the direction of Maxim Vengerov and Bach’s Double Concerto on a tour with violin legend Nigel Kennedy, with plans to later record it along with the Brandenburg Concertos.

 

Currently, Anna-Liisa plays on a 1678 Hieronymus II Amati violin, which is on loan from the Finnish Cultural Foundation.