Riston Valinta

The programme for Risto’s Choice has been curated by music journalist Risto Nordell in collaboration with organist Ville Urponen and Chamber Choir Utopia’s Artistic Director Mikael Maasalo. The evening’s music consists of works especially dear to Nordell, music he often describes in his radio programmes as “the best possible music.” In Nordell’s view, the best possible music is art music that builds a bridge between the everyday and the sacred, between the visible and the invisible worlds.

Risto Nordell – host and narrator
Ville Urponen – organ
Chamber Choir Utopia, conducted by Mikael Maasalo

Program

Dietrich Buxtehude (1637–1707): Praeludium fis-molli, BuxWV 146 (n. 1680–1700)
Sergei Rahmaninov (1873–1943): Bogoroditse Djevo (Ylistetty olet, Neitsyt) – Koko Yön Vigilia, op. 37, nro 6 (1915)
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714–1788): 12 variaatiota teemasta ”Les Folies d’Espagne”, Wq 118/9 (1778)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (n. 1525–1594): Stabat Mater dolorosa (n. 1590)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): Ciaccona g-molli, BWV 1179 (n. 1703–1705)
Gregorio Allegri (1582–1652): Miserere mei, Deus (n. 1638)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750): Fantasia ja fuuga g-molli, BWV 542 (n. 1720)
Cristóbal de Morales (n. 1500–1553): Parce mihi Domine – Officium Defunctorum (n. 1544)
Carlo Gesualdo (1566–1613): Illumina faciem tuam – Sacrae Cantiones I (1603)
Arvo Pärt (s. 1935): My Heart’s in the Highlands (2000)
Arvo Pärt (s. 1935): Da pacem Domine (2004)

Tickets

€39 from Ticketmaster
Student €33
(Ticket prices include a €3.00-4.00 service fee. Additional order fees may apply depending on the payment method. Delivery charges vary by method — eTickets are free. A separate €1.50 order fee is also applied.)
Tickets can also be purchased at the door one hour before the concert.

Bio

Risto Nordell
Born in 1959, Risto Nordell is one of Finland’s most respected and beloved classical music broadcasters. He has enjoyed a career spanning nearly 40 years at the Finnish Broadcasting Company and as a freelance journalist. His best-known radio programme, Risto’s Choice (Riston Valinta), has received several awards within the radio industry. Today, Nordell continues the programme on Radio Dei.
He is also a columnist and music contributor for Kotimaa, as well as a sought-after lecturer, concert presenter, and expert guide for music-themed tours. In 2014, Nordell received the Church Culture Award for his work promoting Christian culture, and in the same year he was honoured with the Christian Media Achievement of the Year Award. His first book, Riston Valinta – Musiikkia vuoden matkalle, was published in 2018.

This summer, Nordell was awarded the recognition prize of the Pro Musica Foundation for his valuable cultural work in support of art music.

Ville Urponen – Organ
Ville Urponen is one of Finland’s most prominent organists. After studying organ and piano in the soloist programme at the Sibelius Academy under Kari Jussila and Meri Louhos, he continued his organ studies in Amsterdam with Jacques van Oortmerssen. Urponen earned his Doctor of Music degree in 2009.

He has performed throughout Europe, as well as in Japan, South Korea, China, and Russia, and has appeared at numerous prestigious music festivals in Finland and abroad. Highlights include opening the 20th-anniversary concert series of the “Bach Organ” at St. Thomas Church in 2020 and performing during the inauguration week of the new Helsinki Music Centre Rieger organ in January 2024.

In November 2026, Urponen will undertake a concert tour of Japan, performing six solo recitals in Tokyo and Sapporo. He has released several solo recordings that have received international acclaim and has also appeared on numerous recordings as an accompanist and orchestral musician. His most recent solo album, released in spring 2025 by Toccata Classics, features three major works by German composer Günter Raphael based on Finnish chorale melodies. The recording received a five-star review in Fanfare, the largest classical recording review magazine in the United States.

Urponen serves as Lecturer in Organ Music at the Sibelius Academy, Artistic Director of the Turku Organ Festival, and Vice Chair of the organ concert committee at the Helsinki Music Centre. In 2015, he received the travelling award of the Organum Society, the oldest organ art society in the Nordic countries, in recognition of his long-standing contributions to organ music.

Chamber Choir Utopia
Founded in 2001, Chamber Choir Utopia consists of 16 singers in its core ensemble. The choir is dedicated both to rediscovering forgotten choral repertoire and to fostering new music. Utopia has developed particular expertise in early music, a repertoire especially well suited to its chamber-sized forces, although modern choral music has also formed a significant part of its programmes over the years.

The choir’s Artistic Director is Mikael Maasalo, but Utopia also collaborates regularly with guest conductors and orchestras. Its more than twenty-year partnership with British harpist and conductor Andrew Lawrence-King has resulted in numerous notable projects, including a recording of Finnish Piae Cantiones melodies for Alia Vox, the renowned label founded by Jordi Savall.

Utopia tours across Europe annually and is also a regular guest at Finnish music festivals.