Martti Arvo Henrik Rousi is a Finnish cellist. He is internationally known both as a soloist and a teacher. Since 1995 Rousi holds the post of Professor of cello at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. His cello class there is attracting talents from around the world. He is invited to conduct masterclasses at leading music academies on every continent.
Martti Rousi was born in November1960 into a musical family. He started playing cello at the age of 8, after having played piano for 2 years. He began his cello studies inspired by the strong Finnish cello school. He studied at the Turku Conservatory under Timo Hanhinen and Seppo Kimanen. In 1979 he enrolled into the Sibelius Academy to study with Arto Noras. After graduation in 1983, he further studied with Janos Starker, William Pleeth, Valter Dešpalj and Natalia Gutman…
In 1982 he won the 1st prize at the Turku Cello Competition and was invited as a soloist by all major Finnish symphony orchestras.
In 1986 Rousi won the Silver Medal at the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow. It was the starting point of an outstanding international carrier : he has performed with leading orchestras such as the Helsinki, Stockholm and Oslo Radio Symphonies, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, the CBSO in Birmingham, the Mariinsky Orchestra, the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfaltz and the Shanghai and Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestras
In addition to pursuing a career as a soloist, Rousi also likes to play chamber music. He has been Artistic Director of the Lemi-Lappeenranta Music Festival, the Turku Music Festival, the Sysmän Suvisoitto Music Festival; he is musical director of the Sibafest (Helsinki) since 2010. He is frequently invited to numerous leading chamber music festivals all over the world.
He has served as a jury member at major competitions including the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (2011, 2015), the Vittorio Gui Competition in Florence, the Solistpriset in Stockholm, and the Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki.
He plays on cellos crafted by Carlo Giuseppe Testore from 1690 and Jean Le Febvre from 1760; his favorite bow is a François Tourte from 1810.
His discography includes several solo and chamber recordings for the Ondine and Finlandia labels. Discover the most listened albums of Martti Rousi, like Frogs Dancing on Water Lilies or Petite Suite: VI. Chanson russe.