The 2026 Jorma Hynninen Art Award goes to soprano Emma Hartikainen

I am truly honored to receive the Jorma Hynninen Art Award of 2026!

I was first introduced to classical vocal music when I was in high school, and one of the first recordings I came across was Jorma Hynninen and Ralf Gothoni's (what a duo!) recording of Soi vienosti murheeni soitto composed by Oskar Merikanto. Hynninen's sincere and direct – and thus extremely touching – singing style made a great impression on me back then, and I have returned to his recordings over the years again and again. Receiving an award bearing his name feels especially meaningful.

Excerpt from the award press release:

“The municipality of Leppävirta wanted to honor the Leppävirta-born barytone Jorma Hynninen's remarkable career by establishing an art award in 2023. The award is granted alternately in the fields of music and visual arts and the prize money is €5,000. Musicians from the Savo region have been eligible to apply for the award for 2026. The music award will be awarded in the field of classical vocal music. The award is open to all vocal genres and ensembles. The award was open for applications from September to December 2025. - - Emma Hartikainen and Tanja Niiranen will perform as a duo at the celebratory concert, which will be held at Leppävirta Church on September 13, 2026.”

Read more:

https://leppavirta.fi/vuoden-2026-jorma-hynninen-palkinto-sopraano-emma-hartikaiselle/