Jukka Santeri Tiensuu (born 30 August 1948) is a Finnish contemporary classical composer, harpsichordist, pianist and conductor.
Tiensuu was born in Helsinki. After extensive musical studies (piano, harpsichord, conducting, composing, historically informed performance, electroacoustic and computer music a.o.t.) at the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki (1967–1972), the Juilliard School, New York (1972–1973), Hochschule für Musik Freiburg (1974–1976), IRCAM, Paris (1978–1982) and other institutes Jukka Tiensuu toured three continents giving numerous concerts with a wide repertoire ranging from the Renaissance to the latest avant-garde and performing both classical and free improvisations. He has received numerous prizes for his compositional work as well as for his recordings and performances. In 2020, he won the Wihuri Sibelius Prize. According to the jury report his "compositions emanate a deep spirituality, and his unwavering adherence to artistic goals is impressive".
Along with over a hundred works in the traditional instrumental, vocal and orchestral fields – in various styles, often microtonal and with electronic or computer music parts – Tiensuu's compositional output also includes many curiosities such as works for Chinese orchestra, accordion ensemble, clarinet choir, instrumental theatre, Baroque orchestra, jazz orchestra, kantele, sheng and works for any ensemble. Most of his works have remained in the repertoire and are available on disc.
His compositions have been premiered by major orchestras and ensembles in three continents by conductors such as Susanna Mälkki, Ernest Bour, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Lorraine Vaillancourt, Diego Masson, Ilan Volkov, Leif Segerstam, Jacek Kaspszyk, John Storgårds, Hannu Lintu, Dima Slobodeniuk, Yan Huichang, Juha Kangas, Jacques Mercier, Stefan Asbury, among others.
In the late 70's, as the president of the ISCM Finnish Section, Tiensuu started the first ever regular contemporary music concert series in Helsinki. He then became a founder and the first artistic director of Helsinki Biennale (now Musica nova Helsinki) as well as the founder and a long-time artistic director of Time of Music contemporary music festival and summer academy in Viitasaari. His other activities include teaching, writing for books and magazines and making evocative radio programs on both baroque music and on music of our time. According to Finnish Music Quarterly (3/2007) Jukka Tiensuu's influence on the contemporary Finnish music scene is virtually beyond compare.
Tiensuu's works are available from his home page www.tiensuu.fi (downloadable) and Musicfinland.fi (printed sheet music)
Erkki-Sven Tüür is an Estonian composer.
Magnus Gustaf Adolf Lindberg is a Finnish composer and pianist. He was the New York Philharmonic's composer-in-residence from 2009 to 2012 and has been the London Philharmonic Orchestra's composer-in-residence since the beginning of the 2014–15 season.
Per Nørgård is a Danish composer and music theorist. Though his style has varied considerably throughout his career, his music has often included repeatedly evolving melodies—such as the infinity series—in the vein of Jean Sibelius, and a perspicuous focus on lyricism. Reflecting on this, the composer Julian Anderson described his style as "one of the most personal in contemporary music". Nørgård has received several awards, including the 2016 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize.
Bent Sørensen is a Danish composer. He won the prestigious Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition in 2018 for L'isola della Città (2016).
Ivan Božičević is a Croatian composer, pianist, organist and jazz musician.
Paavo Johannes Heininen was a Finnish composer and pianist.
Haukur Tómasson is an Icelandic composer. He has a master's degree from the University of California, San Diego. He has also attended the Reykjavík College of Music, the Cologne University for Music and the Sweelinck Conservatory of Amsterdam.
Jouni Ilari Kaipainen was a Finnish composer.
Éric Gaudibert was a Swiss composer.
John Palmer (1959) is a British composer, pianist, and musicologist, also known as a university professor. He has held teaching positions in England, Switzerland and Germany and has delivered masterclasses across universities and music conservatories throughout Europe. His music is published by Composers Edition.
Pehr Henrik Nordgren was a Finnish composer.
Tomi Räisänen is a Finnish composer.
Erich Urbanner is an Austrian composer and teacher.
Marcel Wengler is a Luxembourg composer and conductor. From 1972–1997, he headed the Conservatoire de Luxembourg. Since 2000, he has been director of the Luxembourg Music Information Centre. His compositions include symphonies, concertos, chamber music and musicals.
Sampo Haapamäki is a Finnish composer. He has won several international composition competitions.
Simon Steen-Andersen is a Danish composer, performer, director and media artist.
Jiří Bárta was a Czech pianist and composer.
Sebastian Fagerlund is a Finnish composer. He is described as “a post-modern impressionist whose sound landscapes can be heard as ecstatic nature images which, however, are always inner images, landscapes of the mind”. Echoes of Western culture, Asian musical traditions, and heavy metal have all been detected in his music.
Christoffer Sundqvist is a Finnish clarinettist. Since 2005 he has been first clarinet of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Aki Yli-Salomäki is a Finnish composer, music critic and music journalist. Yli-Salomäki's main musical area is contemporary classical music, but he works also as a composer and producer of popular music and ambient music. Yli-Salomäki forms the electro-pop duo Ouden with baroque singer and performance artist Debi Wongl and he is founding member of hardcore punk band Puhelinkoppi. He makes ambient music under the name Osa7029.