Tampere Filharmonia / Lagerspetz, Juhani / Kaipainen, Jouni : South by Northeast

Jouni Kaipainen (1956-2015) was a polymath and a Renaissance figure in modern Finnish music, who despite his untimely death managed to create a rich and extensive compositional output. The Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra was Kaipainen’s “second family” after he moved to Tampere from Helsinki and his home orchestra, which premiered many of his major works in the 2000s. He composed several works for the orchestra, including symphonies, concertos and chamber music works. The close collaboration with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra enriched the repertoire of both the orchestra and Kaipainen and brought the composer’s music to a wider audience.

On the newly released album, the orchestra is conducted by the composer’s trusted maestro Hannu Lintu, who served as the Tampere Philharmonic’s chief conductor from 2009 to 2013. Lintu, who has had a significant international conducting career, has also taken Kaipainen’s music to the world.

The album SOUTH BY NORTHEAST, released on 20 May 2025, includes Kaipainen's Piano Concerto, interpreted by pianist Juhani Lagerspetz. This is the first recording of the monumental Piano Concerto, Op. 55. Lagerspetz and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra premiered the work in 1997.

In addition to the Piano Concerto, the album also features Kaipainen's work North by Northeast, commissioned by the Nordic Music Council. The title refers to Alfred Hitchcock's hit film Dangerous Romance (1959), in which the two end up fighting for the giant presidential statues on Mount Rushmore in the United States. In Kaipainen's composition, the transition from the city to the middle of nature takes place in Finland, and the journey outlined could begin by train from Helsinki or Tampere towards the northeast, the ravenous regions of Savo-Karelia. The tour guide seems to have been Sibelius and his Tapiola.

In the album's closing track, Aubade beninoise (Beninese Morning Song), the composer expressed the positive culture shock he felt during his trip to Africa. The song takes listeners through West African rhythms to the vortexes of Finnish shamanism.