Perttu Päivö Kullervo Kivilaakso is a cello player for Finnish band

Apocalyptica Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is composed of classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso, and jazz drummer Mikko Sirén. Originally a classical- ...

. Like fellow band members

Eicca Toppinen Eino Matti "Eicca" Toppinen (born 5 August 1975) is a Finnish cellist, songwriter, producer, arranger, and (as a hobby) drummer. In 1993 he formed the quartet Apocalyptica. Biography Toppinen grew up in Vantaa's Hakunila and has three siste ...

and

Paavo Lötjönen Paavo Lötjönen (born 29 July 1968) is a cello player for Finnish band Apocalyptica. Paavo comes from a family where both of his parents were professional musicians. At the age of 6, he took a cello and decided that would be the instrument he ...

, he attended

Sibelius Academy The Sibelius Academy ( fi, Taideyliopiston Sibelius-Akatemia, sv, Sibelius-Akademin vid Konstuniversitetet) is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

. He plays a German 19th century cello; he started playing the cello when he was 5 years old and joined

for their third studio album ''

Cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...

''.
Kivilaakso played in Apocalyptica's 1995 line up, but he was concentrating on his studies when the band began their professional career. At the end of 1999 he came back, switching places with

Antero Manninen Antero Manninen (born 19 January 1973), also known as ‘‘‘Mr. Cool’’’, is a session musician and former band member of Finnish Cello metal quartet Apocalyptica. He was an official member but did not write the music and left in 1999 due ...

, who then went to play in a classical orchestra.

Career

Kivilaakso won third place in the second International Paulo Cello Competition in 1996 at age 18. Shortly afterward, he attained a lifetime chair in the Helsinki Philharmonic orchestra, where his father, Juhani, is also a cellist. He was on indefinite leave while touring with

, but left for good in 2007. Kivilaakso has also composed music for the video game '' Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne'', a few documentary films, as well as many original compositions for

, including "Conclusion," "Farewell" and "Beautiful." His first opera, composed with his Apocalyptica bandmate

, was premiered at the Finnish National Opera on 22 January 2016. The opera, entitled ''

Indigo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...

'', tells "a story of an omnipotent, multinational company and a search for happiness."

Personal life

As of late 2019, Kivilaakso was living with his wife and a dog. They have no children.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kivilaakso, Perttu 20th-century Finnish male musicians 21st-century Finnish male musicians Apocalyptica members Finnish classical cellists Finnish heavy metal cellists Finnish male composers Finnish opera composers Living people Male opera composers Musicians from Helsinki Sibelius Academy alumni Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century Finnish composers 21st-century Finnish composers