Markku Klami wins the Finnish MPA Award for his Violin Concerto: A Requiem in the category 'Classical Composer of the Year 2026: Large-Scale Works'.
The Finnish composer was present at the Music Publishers Association Gala Award ceremony and commented:
I feel very happy, humbled and honoured to have received this prize. It's a huge surprise and a great joy.
The concerto is perhaps my most personal piece, maybe also my most relatable piece, both in the way it was conceived and first received at the premiere. Audiences relate profoundly to the piece which makes it is very special.
Thank you to the jury and the Finnish MPA Award.
Violin Concerto: A Requiem was commissioned by violinist Maria Puusaari and Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. Part of the Tampere Biennale, the work premiered on 17 April 2026 at Tampere Hall, Finland with Ruut Kiiski as conductor.
Blending the intensity of a concerto with the reflective character of a requiem, Markku Klami's Violin Concerto: A Requiem unfolds as both an intimate and universal meditation on loss, longing and resilience. In his programme note, Klami writes: 'The violin concerto is a requiem to an unborn life. The concerto draws its inspiration from profound personal experiences as unwanted infertility, and the experiences and thoughts that arose during this very difficult journey of dealing with unwanted childlessness.'
Read more about the concerto here
