Mänttä-Vilppula

The festival’s co-founder, artistic director and distinguished pianist, Niklas Pokki, initially wanted the festival to showcase young Finnish piano talent – but the festival has since snowballed into an internationallyrecognised event. “We’re Finland’s only annual piano festival, and when I first founded it, I had no idea it would one day become this big. We’re constantly trying to develop the festival further and have been privileged to host some of the best pianists and rising stars here,” says Pokki. This year’s line-up includes internationally recognised names such as Sergei Babayan, Jeremy Denk and rising star Mackenzie Melemed, as well as a number of Finnish pianists.