Picture right: Composer Kalle Välimaa and accordionist Jukka-Pekka Kuusela.

The accordion was featured for the first time in the history of the Hyvinkää Festival in Finland, on July 20th, 2023. The festival is led by renowned violinist Manfred Gräsbeck.

Accordionist Jukka-Pekka Kuusela (picture above left) gave the Finnish premiere of Kalle Välimaa’s solo work “Sonata da Camera”. At the same concert Manfred Gräsbeck played the world premiere of Välimaa’s “Violin Sonata no 2” with pianist Mariko Furukawa.

This concert was the public success at the festival this year. Both Kuusela and Välimaa are graduates of the Gnessins’ Academy of Music (class of Friedrich Lips).