Jarkko Riihimaki

Duke Ellington allegedly once stated: "There are simply two kinds of music: good music and the other kind." Jarkko Riihimäki has always been passionate about many kinds of music.The son of two choir conductors, he grew up in a musical household.

Jarkko started learning instruments at an early age. While studying at the renowned Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Jarkko’s main interest were in the area of German and French art song. Playing with singers, any style, feels very natural for him. "As a pianist one has to understand how a singer breathes, and softly manipulate the music towards the end of a phrase so that it sounds organic and natural. Breathing together is, of course, the key to any kind of music."

An open musical mind led Jarkko to play and study many kinds of music. He has played a lot of both Argentinian and Finnish tango, mostly with the accordion wizard Veli Kujala. With him Riihimäki also forms the duo "The Music Wizards", combinig music and magic tricks/mentalism. One can hear his love for jazz in many things he writes and plays. There is a soft spot for pop music as well.

As an arranger, Riihimäki feels most at home when working with different musical worlds simultaneously. You can find his work on albums by e.g. <a href="spotify:artist:5BkXsfNLBm4G7L82WEBCfv" data-name="Yona">Yona</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:7nstqHP5wRNlaUeSByC86I" data-name="Lisa Batiashvili">Lisa Batiashvili</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:3MxEBUmCEHonZDGfnB1PAn" data-name="Emily D&#39;Angelo">Emily D&#39;Angelo</a>, <a href="spotify:artist:5YB96PPFR0dEMazdUzMJDb" data-name="Simone Kermes">Simone Kermes</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:2OHnFY58Dg8c2SC2PtootB" data-name="Jonas Kaufmann">Jonas Kaufmann</a>. His work as composer is rapidly becoming more and more important.

Of other forms of art the cinema has probably been the most important source of inspiration for Jarkko.