Lauri Kankkunen

I have sometimes been humorously referred to as Lempäälä’s gift to the orchestra, but I personally think I am more of a Tampere native than a Lempäälä native. I lived in Tampere until I was 10 years old, and even then I took cello lessons at Tampere Conservatoire. Still, my football club was the local team, Lempäälän Kisa. I would never have become a professional footballer, but the sport is still dear to me. It is often said that football is best enjoyed in person, and I believe that applies to concerts too.

I have had four important cello teachers in my life who influenced me to become a cellist. I started playing the cello in Tampere at the age of 5, and a year later my teacher was Kaarle Husgafvel. It was always fun to go to lessons, and there were many of us pupils who pushed each other. At the age of 13, I continued with Pauli Heikkinen, with whom we built a technical foundation for my playing. Next came my studies at the Sibelius Academy as a student of Martti Rousi. In his lessons, I really learned to trust myself as a cellist. The fourth important teacher in my life was Truls Mørk from Norway. He is one of the most important cellists of his generation. His lessons enabled me to reconsider my own standards, when I saw how he handled the instrument and music.

I first joined the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra as a member of the cello section in 2013. I earned my seat already after the first audition and was still a young musician, so I soon left to continue my studies. The next time I joined the orchestra was in early 2018, this time as second principal cellist. A year later, I won the audition for first principal cellist, so I have had played in all the cellist positions.

I hope that my experience is useful in understanding what is happening behind my back in the other cello seats. The same music is made in both the first and fifth strings, but as principal cellist it is easier for me to play when the auditory impression is the same as that of the conductor.

In 2019, I got to play on Apocalyptica's world tour to such large audiences that I couldn’t even count the number of listeners. I didn’t grow my hair long during the tour, but my beard grew a little longer. I have some really great memories from that tour, and I got to go to places I would never have visited otherwise. Still, when I returned to the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, it was clear that I had come home. I look for beauty, colours, tones, lights and shadows in music, and I don’t get them anywhere else than when playing orchestral or chamber music. I have rarely been so moved as I was during the first rehearsals after the tour, playing the accompaniment to Bartók's piano concerto in the Paavo rehearsal hall.

The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra was the first professional orchestra I ever performed with. The acclaimed sound of the low strings is one of the reasons why the orchestra has felt like a musical home. I have learned a great deal about orchestral playing from my former and current colleagues. I have a section full of great colleagues whom I can look up to and admire in many ways.

I enjoy coming to work here, but a significant part of being a musician is also that I get to play quartets and solo cello works, as well as teach. I need all of these to keep my work balanced. The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra is currently heading in a very interesting direction, and I hope we stay the course by playing more and more boldly, all of us individuals together, sitting on the edge of our seats. It is great to be part of this development.