» Aapo Häkkinen
Harpsichord
Photo Gallery
(c) Marco Borggreve
(c) Joona Raevuori
Biography
Aapo Häkkinen began his career in the choir at Helsinki Cathedral before discovering the harpsichord at the age of thirteen. He studied harpsichord with Elina Mustonen and organ with Olli Porthan and completed his studies with Bob van Asperen in Amsterdam and Pierre Hantaï in Paris. The support of Gustav Leonhardt was also particularly valuable to him.
Prizes at the International Harpsichord Competition in Bruges and a special award from the Norddeutscher Rundfunk marked the beginning of his international career.
Since then, Aapo Häkkinen has performed worldwide - whether as a soloist on the harpsichord, organ, clavichord or fortepiano or as a chamber musician or conductor. He has performed at the Festival de La Roque-d'Anthéron, Ruhr Piano Festival, Konzerthaus Berlin, Dresden Music Festival, Wigmore Hall, Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Utrecht Early Music Festival, to name but a few.
His discography is as extensive as his concert career. Most recently, The Art of Fugue was released on the Ondine label, and the first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier is planned for 2025. He has also made numerous recordings with the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra.
In addition to his busy concert schedule, he teaches at the Sibelius Academy, gives international masterclasses and is artistic director of the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra, the Helsinki Musiikkitalo Early Music Series and the Janakkala Baroque Festival. For Ut Orpheus Edizioni he published a series of Florentine music for keyboard instruments from the 17th century. He has commissioned, premiered and recorded several compositions and hosts his own program on Finnish Classic FM.
A disc not to be missed, marking Aapo Häkkinen as a Frescobaldian of real distinction (...) Häkkinen has a knack of articulating imitative points in a sinewy manner, and a rhythmic subtlety that allows minute distinctions to tell expressively. Where the music supports it, he plays with a panache reminiscent of Pierre Hantaï, and has a similar capacity for eccentricity, now drawing out one passage, now rattling off another, but without sacrificing the tight structure underlying even Frescobaldi's most fantastic inventions. This is playing of a high order.
Gramophone
Refreshingly different (...) Häkkinen's performances across the various genres reflect the variety of moods in the music. At times there is an almost nonchalant exploration of ideas, while at others there is explosive virtuosity. The improvisatory genres are complemented by thoughtful explorations of counterpoint in the canzonas. Häkkinen allows for an expressive rubato, but instead of searching out each affect, he achieves a broad and sweeping sense of movement across the whole structure.
Early Music
Upcoming concerts
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