Heartily welcome to our home pages.
Welcome dear friends, the Sibelius in Korpo festival takes place this summer for the 25th time, between 17th and 19th of July, in this beautiful sunny archipelago environment. Thus, the theme for this summer’s festival will be “Sibelius in Korpo 25 years.” This summer, in total, we will have five concerts, three in the Korpo Manor one in the Norrskata church, in collaboration with Norrskata kulturvänner r.f. and the final concert on the Sunday will be in the Korpo Church.
We are happy again to be able to wish welcome to Korpo a group of renowned musicians – some of them are visiting Korpo for the first time.
I wish all of you in the audience enjoyable, personal experiences, this summer, with music of Jean Sibelius, Armas Järnefelt and Dimitri Shostakovich.
Petri Kirkkomäki
Executive Director, baritone
Sibelius in Korpo festival
Folke Gräsbeck: Artistic Director’s Greeting
Sibelius in Korpo XXV 17th to 19th July 2026
“Sibelius in Korpo 25 years”
Dear Festival Visitors,
welcome to the 25. Edition of the Sibelius in Korpo Festival 17–19.7 2025! We have arranged the festival annually since the start in 2002. We offer inspired music making during three days, a pattern developed already during many years. Belo, please find some details from the programme:
Three quarters of Sibelius’ entire production performed at the the festival
The theme of our festival this summer, 17-19th of July will be the festival’s 25th anniversary. We are grateful to our donors, supporters, musicians and above all to our audience for their support over the years. By now, at the festival we have presented 445 compositions by Sibelius - more than any festival ever. The repertoire policy in short - famous Sibelius compositions alongside stylistically similar but less known compositions. Moreover, the compositions dating from Sibelius’ visits to the archipelago, Hafträsk (Norrskata) 1886 and Korpo Manor 1887 have always had a special status during the festival. These compositions gave the inspiration for the foundation of the festival back in 2002.
Korpo-trio 17.7 and Hafträsk-trio 18.7
These pianotrios play an important role also this summer. Included are also piano pieces that Sibelius composed for the owner of Korpo Manor, Ina Wilenius. Scenerypaintings in tones! Sibelius made an own black and white drawing (circa 1887) for his piece depicting the sunrise.
The cellist Erkki Lahesmaa will be part of out pianotrio. He is the Artistic Director of Nagu kammarmusikdagar, the festival on our neighbouring island. He has studied a.o. in the renowned Juilliard School of Music, in New York.
Our violinist this summer will be the virtuoso Madoka Sato, one of the leading violinists for the repertoar of Sibelius. She has recorded all of Sibelius’ 57 pieces for the violin, and she completed her doctorate by playing the both versions of the Sibelius violin concerto as the soloist with a symphony orchestra. She has also been the chairman of the Sibelius society in Japan.
We also want to take the opportunity to thank the present owner of the Korpo Manor Tuulikki Wahe-Rohrbach and her charming family for an intensive co-operation over the years. The Sibelius family spent numerous evenings in the music lounge on the upper floor - we have had the privilege of arranging our concerts in the same lounge over the years.
1st version of the violin concerto in Norrskata 18.7
During the afternoon konsert in the Norrskata church Madoka Sato will perform the first version of the violin concerto together with yours truly, Folke Gräsbeck. We had the honour to make the official first public performance of this version for violin and piano in Tokyo in 2007. We have also recorded the both versions of the violin concerto for the recording company BIS.
Kurt-Erik Långbacka finished his tenure as the Executive Director for the festival in 2011 at the 10th anniversary of the festival. Back then Madoka Sato played a memorable version of the violin concerto with a symphony orchestra in the Korpo church. We want to thank Kurre for a fruitful co-operation, special thanks also to Bosse Mellberg, long-time Chairman of our sister festival Korpo Sea Jazz.
Petri Kirkkomäki, the singing Executive Director 2012–2026
Since 2012 Petri Kirkkomäki has acted in the role as Executive Director of the festival - s special thanks to him for his work over the years. As a baritone he has studied classical singing in Turin, Vienna and Helsinki. This year at the festival he will be singing music by Sibelius, Järnefelt and Shostakovich.
Dmitri Shostakovich 120th anniversary 1906–2026
This year we will be celebrating the 120th anniversary of Shostakovich. His music will be performed in the consert on Saturday 18.7 at the Korpo Manor. Both Kirkkomäki and the soprano Eleriin Müüripeal will perform his music. We experienced Müüripeal as the charismatic chorus leader in the performance of the Sibelius Cantata 1897 during the last year’s festival, but she is also an excellent dramatic soprano. Shostakovich was one of the composers Sibelius held in high esteem. Shostakovich’s understanding of the russian mental landscape and the people’s bloody history over many hundred years is remarkable.
A selection of Armas Järnefelt’s repertoire of 80 songs
Like a fem times before we are also presenting the music composed by Sibelius’ brother-in-law Armas Järnefelt. His primary genre as a composer were the songs with piano. We will perform a selection of these in the concerts on Saturday and Sunday.
The male chorus Tretti Karar with Henrik Wikström 19.7
On the Sunday the grand final will take place in the Korpo Church with the male chorus Tretti Karar led by Henrik Wikström. On the programme will be a set of Sibelius and Järnefelt male chorus classics, a.o. Athenarnes sång – again very topical as a result of the current state of the world we are living in.
We wish you welcome to the 25th anniversary of the festival. We will offer you again inspired musicianship over three days.
Folke Gräsbeck, Artistic Director
The festival Sibelius in Korpo
