GRIEG: Sonata No. 2 in G major, Op. 13

ADÈS: Märchentänze

SIBELIUS: Mazurka, Rondino and Walzer from “Five Pieces for Violin and Piano,” Op. 81

ELGAR: Sonata in E minor, Op. 82

The 2024/25 season marked Stephen Waarts’ debuts with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra performing Brahms’s Violin Concerto under the baton of Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla; with the Oregon Symphony and Hannu Lintu in Barber’s Concerto; with the Orchestre de Picardie and Johanna Malangré in Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 2; and with the Israel Camerata and Marc Minkowski in a program dedicated to Bach and Mozart.

Stephen also returns to collaborate with the Hallé Orchestra, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Chamber Orchestra of Europe and Szczecin Philharmonic, working with Thomas Adès, Markus Poschner and Sir András Schiff.

Among the highlights of recent seasons are performances with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Berner Symphonieorchester, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de Belgique, Fort Worth Symphony, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra and Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, under conductors such as Christoph Eschenbach, Sir András Schiff, Marin Alsop, Constantinos Carydis, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Dalia Stasevska, Robert Spano, Maxime Pascal, Markus Stenz and Elim Chan.

A passionate chamber musician and recitalist, Waarts collaborates regularly with Sir András Schiff, Francesco Piemontesi, Daniel Müller-Schott, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Timothy Ridout, Tabea Zimmermann and Martin Helmchen. He has performed at major international festivals including Aspen, Marlboro, Gstaad and Rheingau, and in recital at Philharmonie Luxembourg, Philharmonie Haarlem, Fundación Juan March, Lincoln Center, Auditorium du Louvre, Boulez Saal, San Francisco Performances and Vancouver Recital Society.

In the current season, he is scheduled to appear in recital at the Bath Mozartfest, Edesche Concertzaal, Wigmore Hall and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

In 2022, he released his first concerto recording for Alpha Classics, dedicated to Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 1 with the Camerata Schweiz conducted by Howard Griffiths. His discography also includes Hindemith’s Kammermusik No. 4, part of the Ondine Classic cycle with Christoph Eschenbach, the Kronberg Academy Soloists and the Schleswig-Holstein Festival Orchestra (2020).

Stephen Waarts studied at the Kronberg Academy with Mihaela Martin and at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia with Aaron Rosand. In 2019, he received the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra Award at the International Classical Music Awards. In 2017, he was awarded the Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Soloist Prize at the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, where he performs regularly. In 2015, following his participation in Krzyżowa-Music, he received a scholarship from the Mozart Gesellschaft Dortmund. That same year, his success at the Queen Elizabeth Competition — further confirmed by the overwhelming vote of the television audience — marked his international breakthrough.

The Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen is internationally acclaimed for his unique and compelling musical expression. He has performed across Europe, Asia, and North America, distinguishing himself as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. His repertoire often includes works by Finnish composers such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Kaija Saariaho and Jean Sibelius, reflecting his deep connection with Scandinavian music.

Highlights of the current season include performances of Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Vinay Parameswaran, and a return to Wigmore Hall alongside Stephen Waarts and Jonathan Swensen. In Finland, he appears at the Lux Musicae Festival, while in North America he continues his collaboration with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, performing at Lincoln Center, in various U.S. cities, and with the LA Chamber Orchestra.

In the previous season, he performed Mendelssohn’s Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings with Erin Keefe, the Kymi Sinfonietta and Osmo Vänskä, and Beethoven’s “Emperor” Concerto with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Giedrė Šlekytė. He has also appeared at major European festivals including Festspiele Südtirol, Amsterdam Chamber Festival and Surrey Hills International Music Festival. In the U.S., he toured with the Chamber Music Society, performing in Grand Rapids, Virginia, Florida and at Alice Tully Hall.

As a soloist, he has performed with leading orchestras such as the BBC Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, Finnish Radio Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Tonhalle Zürich, collaborating with conductors including Marin Alsop, Marek Janowski, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Osmo Vänskä and Pinchas Zukerman.

In recital, he has appeared in Antwerp, Hamburg, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Warsaw and Wigmore Hall (London). In North America, he has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Philadelphia, San Francisco, La Jolla, Detroit and Vancouver. He has been a guest artist at festivals such as Lucerne, Savonlinna, Bergen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Mostly Mozart Festival.

His discography demonstrates the depth and refinement of his musical language. His recent album Visionaries of the Keyboard (Orchid Records) combines Rameau’s baroque elegance with Scriabin’s modern mysticism. He has also recorded Poltéra Plays Prokofiev with cellist Christian Poltéra, featuring Prokofiev’s Cello Sonata and Brett Dean’s Rooms of Elsinore. His debut recording on Dacapo, Plateaux, includes the Piano Concerto by Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. With Petteri Iivonen and Samuli Peltonen, he founded the Sibelius Trio, recording an album for Yarlung Records celebrating the centenary of Finland’s independence.

He began his studies in 1989 at the Junior Academy of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki with Meri Louhos, and later earned his Master’s degree under Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna. Winner of the 2009 Klavier-Festival Ruhr Scholarship awarded by Sir András Schiff, he has also been a student of the Kronberg Academy and a laureate of numerous international and national competitions.

In 2019, he designed MyPianist, an AI-based iOS app functioning as a “virtual pianist”, offering interactive accompaniments to musicians worldwide. Designed and developed by Pohjonen himself, the app adapts in real time to the performer’s interpretation, following tempo and expression with remarkable sensitivity.