Introducing Finnish barihunk Aarne Pelkonen

What better day to introduce Finnish barihunk Aarne Pelkonen than on his birthday (July 11th). The winner of the 2015 Sibelius Singing Competition studied at the Sibelius Academy. He also is a 1st Prize winner for male voice at the Lappeenranta National Singing Competition in 2013. Together with pianist Juho Alakärppä he was a prizewinner in Das Lied – International Song Competition in Berlin in 2011 and at the International Student Lied-Duo Competition in Enschede in the Netherlands.

Aarne Pelkonen sings Tule kanssani, Herra Jeesus:

Pelkonen is an avid lied and oratorio singer who has performed at the Heidelberger Frühling Festival, Helsinki Music Centre, Vienna Musikverein, International Kaija Saariaho Festival in Helsinki, Oulu Music Festival, and with the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Finnish Baroque orchestra and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. Pelkonen’s recordings include Brahms’ songs for the Finnish Broadcast.

Aarne Pelkonen has joined the Oldenburg Opera in Germany through 2017, where he will perform Elviro in Handel's Serse, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro and San in Trouble in Tahiti. In August he'll join Karita Mattila and Florian Boesch in the cast of Berg's Wozzeck at the Helsinki Music Center with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Baritones dominate Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition

Johnny Herford (L) and Aarne Pelkonen (R)

As we prepare to watch the finals of the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition, we're amazed at the consistently great baritone voices on the world scene. Five of the eleven singers in the September 1st finals are baritones. They include Johnny Herford, Morgan Pearse, Aarne Pelkonen, Ross Ramgobin and Gavan Ring. Pearse has appeared on this site a few times.

The Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition has been around for ten years and attracts some of the top young vocal and piano talent in the world. Singers compete in tandem with an accompanist. This Competition recognizes the song tradition as a whole and requires contestants to perform in at least three languages. At the same time it honors the Lied’s place at the heart of the song repertoire and celebrates the Shakespearean stature of Schubert in the genre.

Dominik Köninger's thrilling 2011 winning set at the Wigmore/Kohn Competition:

The semi-final round will be held from 3-7:30 PM on September 1 and the final round and award ceremony will begin at 6 PM on September 3 with a dinner break. Tickets are available online.

Fans of great baritones may want to hang around until September 7 when Simon Keenlyside and Bryn Terfel join accompanist Malcolm Martineau for an evening of Schumann and Schubert at Wigmore Hall. Tickets are available online.