Johannes Piirto © Kaapo Kamu
Johannes Piirto
Johannes Piirto: 6./7.10.2020
Year of birth: 1993
Instrument: piano and composition
Nationality: Finland
http://johannespiirto.fi/
The unusual situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic currently requires maximum flexibility, especially in the event and concert field, from both artists and the organizers. Due to current travel restrictions, we are currently repeatedly confronted with short-term cancellations from artists. This is also the reason why pianist Hélène Grimaud had to cancel her planned performance which was part of her European tour with the Camerata Salzburg on October 6th, 2020 at 7.30 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Wiener Konzerthaus. Despite the short-term nature, we would like to offer our audience a high-quality alternative program. In particular we would like to offer young, aspiring soloists the opportunity to perform in front of an established concert audience in one of Europe's leading concert halls. Following this strategy, the young Finnish pianist Johannes Piirto now presents himself as a replacement for Grimaud with the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in D minor K 466 by Wolfgang A. Mozart with one of the best chamber orchestras in the world. Piirto already attracted attention with his excellent musical performance in the Wiener Konzerthaus in June 2020 at an online concert series together with Julian Rachlin. Now we are looking forward to making his debut as a soloist possible at the Wiener Konzerthaus. His performance was accompanied by a larger social media campaign. In several short videos on Facebook and Instagram - one of which is an interview format with the artistic operations director Rico Gulda - Piirto tells us about his personal access to the program. He lets us take part when choosing a grand piano and presents short musical excerpts from the piano concerto. Piirto is not only given the opportunity to professionalize his online presence, but can also achieve significantly more coverage for his online presence through paid advertisements that are financed by the Wiener Konzerthaus. The decision to present a young up-and-coming artist in the substitute program instead of a well-known pianist and to accompany his performance with a professionally produced social media campaign corresponds to the strategy of the Wiener Konzerthaus to make excellent music accessible for all Viennese - and thus also for a younger generation.