Arto Noras (born 12 May 1942, in

Turku Turku ( ; ; , ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Southwest Finland. It is located on the southwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Aura River (Finland), River Aura. The population of Turku is approximately , while t ...

) is a Finnish cellist who is one of Finland's most celebrated instrumentalists and amongst the most outstanding internationally acknowledged cellists of his generation. At the age of 8, Arto Noras started his studies at the prestigious

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy (, ) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjoki ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Finland. After completing his studies with Professor Yrjö Selin at the Sibelius Academy, Arto Noras studied with Paul Tortelier at the Paris Conservatoire where he gained the coveted Premier Prix diploma in 1964.CONVERSATION WITH ARTO NORAS
by the Internet Cello Society Two years later, in 1966, he was awarded second prize in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, which immediately opened his way to the most important concert halls in Europe and both North and South America where he has performed regularly ever since. Arto Noras also won the Danish Sonning Prize in 1967 and Finnish State music prize in 1972.Arto Noras
bio at Naxos.com Arto Noras' repertoire covers all the principal works that have been written for his instrument, including those by contemporary composers, and he has recorded them extensively for the Finlandia recording label. In 1970 Arto Noras was appointed Professor of Cello at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Noras has served as a jurist for some of the most important music competitions in the world, including the Tchaikovsky, Casals and Cassado competitions. He can be heard as a most distinguished chamber musician as a member of the Helsinki Trio and as a founder member of the Sibelius Academy Quartet as well as with several other groups of similarly distinguished musicians. In 1980, Prof. Noras founded the Naantali Music Festival in Naantali,

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, and as of 2013 he is still the Artistic Manager of the festival. He also founded in 1991 and remains the Artistic Director of the V Paulo International Cello Competition, whose former winners include internationally renowned French concert cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras and Perttu Kivilaakso, member of the popular cello rock band

Apocalyptica Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is currently composed of three classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso. Originally a Classical music, classical- ...

.V Paulo International Cello Competition

References

Teaching chair

{{DEFAULTSORT:Noras, Arto 1942 births Living people Musicians from Turku Sibelius Academy alumni Academic staff of Sibelius Academy Finnish cellists