Renowned as one of the world's top accordionists, Maria Kalaniemi graduated from Helsinki's Sibelius Academy in 1990 after studying in both the folk and classical music departments concurrently. She became one of the figures in the new wave of Finnish folk music that was evolving around the academy. Since 1983 and up to the present day, she has formed her bands from the students and teachers at the academy. These include Niekku, Aldargaz, The Helsinki Melodeon Ladies Quintet and Zeta Bop: each and every one an essential player in the Finnish world music scene.
Her music can be termed borderless in the geographic sense, since the influence of Scandinavian and Balkan folk music are just as evident in it as those of the French waltz and the tango. She is marked by the same diversity in terms of genre as well, creating elegant gateways between folk music, jazz and contemporary chamber music. In spite of all this, she also has a clearly defined and intimate musicality, full of touching sensitivity and pure poetry. Following up on her 2006 success with Bellow Poetry, which was linked to the ancient tradition of The Kalevala, she released a new album entitled Vilda Rosor in 2010, this time displaying her virtues as a singer with her adaptations of Finnish and Swedish ballads.
Maria Kalaniemi has already visited Müpa Budapest before, ten years ago, as a member of the international Accordion Tribe. Now, we'll finally get to hear her wonderful playing at the head of her own band.

The concert is taking place as part of the FinnAgora - Finnish Institute in Budapest's Finnish-Swedish Weeks.

Presented by: FinnAgora, Müpa Budapest