Shapes & Icons: Finnish Music for Accordion With Matti Pulkki

Combining iconic late 20th-century soundscapes with brand-new ones, Matti Pulkki presents a concert of Finnish music for solo accordion by Einojuhani Rautavaara, Cecilia Damström and Magnus Lindberg with a premiere performance of a piece by Reiko Füting. Compositions include an adaptation of Rautavaara’s “Icons,” written in 1955 and based on his experiences in New York; an exciting, recent work by Cecilia Damström; and the widely celebrated, classical accordion piece “Jeux D’Anches” by Magnus Lindberg.

The concert is made possible by generous support from the Finlandia Foundation National. New work by Reiko Füting is commissioned by Ralph Crispino, Jr.

Matti Pulkki (b. 1991) is a Finnish accordionist performing as a soloist and with different chamber groups around the world. Recently he has focused on collaborating with composers on renewing the soundscape of the instrument through experimentation. Pulkki primarily concentrates on original music written for accordion, and also arranges, transcribes, and performs music from a wide range of styles.

Pulkki is currently pursuing his doctorate at the University of Toronto, studying with professor Joseph Macerollo, and completed his Master’s degree at the Sibelius Academy of the University of the Arts Helsinki as a student of professor Matti Rantanen in 2017.