Tuomo Matero

I still remember moments from my audition in 2009, how I was playing Dvořák’s Quintet on a chamber music round. It was early spring, and my audition and that of another applicant were extended with a month-long stint with the orchestra: first it was the other applicant’s turn, then mine. After two months, the board then met during a break in an orchestra rehearsal to decide which of us would be selected, or whether either of us would be selected. During the meeting, I paced nervously back and forth in the courtyard of Finlandia Hall. Before the rehearsals continued, I was informed in the hallway that I had been selected. During the rehearsals, I played the double bass part of Grieg’s Morning Mood with tears streaming down my cheeks!

Our section has always had its own unique musicians, which has been valuable to me. 

I am originally from Kajaani. The Kainuu Music Institute and the Kaukametsä Chamber Orchestra provided a good starting point for my musical interests. I still visit the chamber orchestra to help out. My mother has said that she would not have thought that I would be musically talented, but I followed my older sister to music class. I played the trumpet for a year, but when nothing came of it, I switched to the double bass. It was fun, I felt like I was making progress, and I had good teachers, Timo Kakko and Jorma Lappalainen.

After completing upper secondary school, I began studying at Helsinki Polytechnic Stadia under Jussi Javas and Juho Martikainen. Later, I studied at the Sibelius Academy under Panu Pärssisen. I began filling in with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra when I was quite young as a music student. Our section has always had its own unique musicians, which has been valuable to me. Our section is full of strong personalities who take music forward. We have a good group of people, with whom it is nice to socialise in the evening after a concert.

Concerts in front of an audience are the most important part of the job for me.

Concerts in front of an audience are the most important part of the job for me, and I draw a lot of energy from them. I do not know if it is due to performing for an audience or because I get to play good music – or both. If I am not able to play concerts, I notice it in my wellbeing. Sometimes at concerts, it feels like the musicians and the entire audience are together, gathered around some intimate, common cause. At the same time, it feels like you are in touch with the entire universe. I would describe it almost as a holy experience.

I like to play Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky. Ottorino Respighi is my favourite composer, and I could easily play Pines of Rome once a week – it is the music of my heart. If I had to curate a concert for an orchestra, it would include Respighi’s Pines of Rome and Sibelius’s 7th Symphony. I never get tired of Sibelius’s symphonies. 

If the HPO were a horse, it would be a reliable steed. 

I enjoy singing and horseback riding in my pastime. I used to have my own horse, a beautiful Hanoverian gelding named Semjon, or Simo as we called him, but he died a few years ago. I competed with Simon in dressage and show jumping. We also dreamed of eventing, but we never had time to do that. Nowadays I go riding once a week at a riding school that has nice, healthy and energetic horses.

Riding is also good for playing an instrument. Moving together with the horse improves your basic fitness, and riding is also a good workout for your core. The communication between horse and rider is similar to performing with other people. You constantly sense and react to what the other person is doing. Like performing, riding is fundamentally about knowing and controlling your body, albeit on a larger scale.

If the HPO were a horse, it would be a reliable steed. Previously, it was quite stiff and slow, but now it has become a bit more sensitive and reactive. We have a big role in the bass section in that we actively follow the conductor’s aids and are involved in managing the tempo. If the basses are slow and heavy, it is difficult for others to follow along. It is great that I get to play the best music in the world every week in the best bass section in Finland. And we have the best audience in Finland too!

Hannele Tavi