15“With his commanding, richly nuanced playing, Joona Pulkkinen brought Don Quixote to life as a tragic and deeply human character.”

Harri Hautala, Aamulehti

Finnish cellist Joona Pulkkinen is regarded as one of the most compelling cellists and pedagogues in the Nordic countries now.

He has appeared as a soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, Brussels’ La Monnaie Orchestra, and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. Pulkkinen has performed at several important Scandinavian music festivals and in many of Europe’s great concert halls, including Brussels’ Palais des Beaux-Arts, the Auditorium of the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. In autumn 2022, he began his work as a lecturer in cello at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.

Pulkkinen was selected for Gautier Capuçon’s Classe d’Excellence de Violoncelle in Paris for the 2015–2016 season. His other teachers have included Gary Hoffman, Marko Ylönen, and Pauli Heikkinen.

Pulkkinen won third prize at the National Turku Cello Competition in 2010, where he was the youngest finalist. From 2014 to 2023, he served as principal cellist of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. He has also worked as guest principal cellist with Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

Joona Pulkkinen plays a rare Davide Pizzorno cello from 1769 and a Pierre Simon bow from 1855.