Commended by Berliner Zeitung  for playing with "scenic contrasts as well as resoluteness and elegance" and by Piano News  for his "finely articulated playing and colourful sound," Sami Väänänen has earned himself a name among Finnish pianists. This commitment for quality has earned him engagements at concert series like "Carte Blanche" of the Berliner Philharmoniker, "Ambassadors' Concert Series" in Prague, and with orchestras like Orquestra Sinfônica do Recife in Brazil, Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester in Denmark, Nordnorsk Opera og Symfoniorkester in Norway, Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, Sinfonia Lahti in Finland, and The Guards Band of Finnish Defense Forces, whereby he played with conductors like Christian Lindberg, Andreas Wittmann, Igor Budinstein, Osman Giuseppe Gioia, Anthony Weeden, Ulf Söderblom and Elias Seppälä.

 

His chamber music partners of recent years include double bassist Otto Tolonen, bass-baritone Esa Ruuttunen and cellist Sennu Laine. In 2014 Edition Troy released Sami's solo CD with the four Ballades by Frédéric Chopin and Images I by Claude Debussy. The German label Muventa Music re-released the CD in 2018. Earlier, the Finnish national broadcaster YLE released his studio recordings of “Gaspard de la Nuit” by Maurice Ravel and Sonata 1926 by Béla Bartók. Prof. Klaus Stoll (1st Principal Bass, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra) assigned Sami as his chamber music partner on his DVD "Klaus Stoll - teaches and demonstrates double bass."

 

Sami Väänänen studied with Vitali Berzon at the Sibelius Academy and the University of Music Freiburg, continuing his studies in London at the Trinity College of Music with Anthony Green. He has given multiple first performances of contemporary works like the 1st Piano Concerto “Sublunar Mechanics” by Tomi Räisänen, the Trio by Gustavo Beytelman, and “Grafie” by Nikolai Badinski. As a stylistically versatile pianist, Sami has also repeatedly performed piano parts of the British jazz composer Django Bates' orchestral works. He has served as a jury member for the international Steinway competition as well as the German competition "Jugend Musiziert."

Commended by Berliner Zeitung  for playing with "scenic contrasts as well as resoluteness and elegance" and by Piano News  for his "finely articulated playing and colourful sound," Sami Väänänen has earned himself a name among Finnish pianists. This commitment for quality has earned him engagements at concert series like "Carte Blanche" of the Berliner Philharmoniker, "Ambassadors' Concert Series" in Prague, and with orchestras like Orquestra Sinfônica do Recife in Brazil, Sønderjyllands Symfoniorkester in Denmark, Nordnorsk Opera og Symfoniorkester in Norway, Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, Sinfonia Lahti in Finland, and The Guards Band of Finnish Defense Forces, whereby he played with conductors like Christian Lindberg, Andreas Wittmann, Igor Budinstein, Osman Giuseppe Gioia, Anthony Weeden, Ulf Söderblom and Elias Seppälä.

 

His chamber music partners of recent years include double bassist Otto Tolonen, bass-baritone Esa Ruuttunen and cellist Sennu Laine. In 2014 Edition Troy released Sami's solo CD with the four Ballades by Frédéric Chopin and Images I by Claude Debussy. The German label Muventa Music re-released the CD in 2018. Earlier, the Finnish national broadcaster YLE released his studio recordings of “Gaspard de la Nuit” by Maurice Ravel and Sonata 1926 by Béla Bartók. Prof. Klaus Stoll (1st Principal Bass, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra) assigned Sami as his chamber music partner on his DVD "Klaus Stoll - teaches and demonstrates double bass."

 

Sami Väänänen studied with Vitali Berzon at the Sibelius Academy and the University of Music Freiburg, continuing his studies in London at the Trinity College of Music with Anthony Green. He has given multiple first performances of contemporary works like the 1st Piano Concerto “Sublunar Mechanics” by Tomi Räisänen, the Trio by Gustavo Beytelman, and “Grafie” by Nikolai Badinski. As a stylistically versatile pianist, Sami has also repeatedly performed piano parts of the British jazz composer Django Bates' orchestral works. He has served as a jury member for the international Steinway competition as well as the German competition "Jugend Musiziert."