Jari Hämäläinen
Conductor
Press Reviews
Lohengrin, Savonlinna Opera Festival (done with only 24 hours' notice)
"Hämäläinen's gamble succeeds in Lohengrin - Artistic Director jumps in to conduct without rehearsals
...Calm Hämäläinen kept the long opera together well, although it's very difficult and the soloists and the choir were spread in many levels on the wide Olavinlinna stage... even the orchestra joined to the huge applause... 'It was really great working with him, I would like to see anyone else try to do the same without rehearsals', praised the first principal Tero Latvala..."
-Helsingin Sanomat, July, 2011
La Traviata, Teatre Principal de Palma
"Otro punto musical a destacar es la orquesta. Nuestra Simfònica estuvo impecable en todo momento y, si cabe, mejor todavía en el segundo acto, en el cual no se notaba su presencia pero sabías que estaba allí para reforzar el canto. Jari Haemaelaeinen supo sacar de las secciones de cuerda, tan trascendentes en La Traviata, la afinación, el volumen y la musicalidad adecuados."
-Diarode Mallorca, June 19, 2011
(Another musical highlight is the orchestra. Our Symphony was spotless at all times and, if possible, even better in the second act, where its presence was not noticeable but you knew it was there to reinforce the song. Jari Haemaelaeinen was able to draw out the string sections, so transcendent in La Traviata, as well as the pitch, volume and appropriate music.)
Die Walküre, Hawaii Opera Theatre
"Under conductor Hämäläinen, the orchestra sounded wonderful, with notable solos that made it easy for the audience to follow Wagner's famous leitmotive, the musical phrases that relate what's happening."
-Ruth Bingham, Honolulu Advertiser, February 14, 2010
"The conductor Jari Hämäläinen led these forces in a lyrical rendering of Wagner's score."
-Jim Becker, Opera, June, 2010
"Under conductor Jari Hämäläinen, the orchestra created a solid foundation for singing and stage action."
-Ruth Bingham, Opera News, May, 2010
Turandot, Savonlinna Opera Festival
"Jari Hämäläinen hatte alle Hände voll zu tun, Bühne und Graben zusammen zu halten, was angesichts der in der Breite riesigen Ausmaße des Spielorts und der vom Regisseur verlangten Spielastik von Ministern und Chor... nicht gerade einfach war. So kam es mehrfach zu einem Als-ob-Zusammenspiel trotz des äusserst präzisen und leicht ablesbaren Schlages des Dirigenten (und Künstlerischen Leiters des Festivals). Hämäläinen nutzte nicht nur die ganze dynamische Breite der Partitur voll aus, sondern erwies sich darüber als ein hervorragender, tempomässig immer auf die Sänger Rücksicht nehmender Begleiter."
-Sune Manninen, Deropernfreund.de, July 7, 2009
(Jari Hämäläinen had his hands full to hold stage and pit together, which was not exactly simple in view of the gigantic size in the width of the stage and the rigors demanded by the Music and Choir Director... So it came repeatedly to be one game of whether-they-were-together in spite of the extremely precise and easily readibly beat of the conductor (and artistic leader of the festival). Hämäläinen exploited not only the entire dynamic width of the score fully, but also proved to be an outstanding, moderate-speed companion, always taking the singers into consideration.)
Le Nozze di Figaro, Opera Ireland
"The production was a lively one, not least because of the controlled energy that emenates from the RTÉ Concert Orchestra under Jari Hämäläinen. The playing is tight, the tempos very brisk, the balances between stage and pit exemplary. And Hämäläinen manages to bring the singers with him at his often daring speeds."
-Michael Dervan, The Irish Times, March 2008
Rigoletto, Macau International Music Festival
"The Macau Orchestra, having steadily improved in the past few years, responded much better to Jari Hämäläinen than to any of a number of Italian guest conductors over the years. This was opera that rang with idiomatic truth, where no detail was too small."
-Ken Smith, Opera Magazine, November 2007
Sibelius Anniversary Concert with the Mexico City Philharmonic
"El maestro Jari Hämäläinen ofreció una lectura entusiasta e intensa demostrando un profundo conocimiento de las piezas anteriores. El resultado ha sido excelente tanto por el dramatismo como por la ternura que sabe extraer de las páginas del concierto en perfecto equilibrio.
La obra es emotiva, solemne y equilibrada, con profundos y musicales pasajes. Nuevamente, Hämäläinen demostró afinidad por un repertorio que conoce y siente profundamente, y para el cual ha buscado y procurado el equilibrio sinfónico y la coherencia. Se mostró como un gran concertador, serio e inteligente, que quiso deleitar en todo momento, y que supo extraer el virtuosismo de una orquesta que lo siguió en todo momento en musicalidad y dinámica." (Click here to read full review)
-Alberto Rosas, Mundoclasico.com, November 2007
(The Maestro Jari Hämäläinen offered an enthusiastic and intense reading showing a deep knowledge of the previous pieces. The result has been excellent as much for the drama as for the tenderness that he knows to extract from the pages of the concerto in perfect equilibrium.
The work is emotional, solemn and stable, with profound and musical passages. Again, Hämäläinen showed affinity for a repertoire that he knows and feels deeply, and for which he has looked for and procured symphonic equilibrium and coherence. In a great conciliatory manner he presented himself, serious and intelligent, wanting to delight in every moment, and who knew to extract the virtuosity of an orchestra which continued in every moment in musicality and dynamics.)