During his lifetime, Oskar Merikanto (1868–1924) was the most popular composer at Finnish homes. Even today, in events such as weddings or funerals, his pieces are widely heard and performed. Merikanto was an excellent pianist and organist and possessed a particular gift in writing memorable melodies. Enjoying great popularity, Merikanto wrote over 200 songs, a number of duets and also several choral works, and nearly 200 piano works. The year 2024 marks the 100th anniversary from the death of Oskar Merikanto. To celebrate this anniversary year, baritone Waltteri Torikka is presenting 29 melodies by Oskar Merikanto through this album. Signed by Warner in 2015, Waltteri Torikka topped the Finnish pop charts for 3 weeks in 2018, performs frequently in European opera festivals and music festivals, and has also performed at the BBC Proms.

Baritone Waltteri Torikka is an exceptionally versatile opera and concert singer. Torikka has performed as a soloist with all Finnish symphony orchestras and on all major Finnish opera stages. He has sung at the BBC Proms festival at the Royal Albert Hall in the title role of Sibelius’s Kullervo Symphony, at the Aix-en-Provence festival, at the Croatian National Opera, as a soloist with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie and Camerata Salzburg, and with the Danish National Opera tour alongside several Danish orchestras. The works particularly dear to him as a lied and oratorio singer are Bach’s Passions and cantatas, Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah as well as other various projects. His opera roles include, among others, the title roles in Don Giovanni, Eugene Onegin, and The Marriage of Figaro, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Belcore in The Elixir of Love, Danilo in The Merry Widow, Amfortas in Parsifal, Escamillo and Morales in Carmen, Topi in The Red Line, and Marcello and Schaunard in La Bohème. In addition, Torikka has been involved in the world premieres of several operas, both as a performer and artistic director. The winner of the National Lappeenranta Singing Competition, Waltteri Torikka, has been honored with awards such as the Mozart Academy HSBC Laureates Prize at the Aix-en-Provence festival, the Bayreuth scholarship, the Martti Talvela Foundation grant, and the Pro Musica Foundation’s Young Musician of the Year award.

Marko Hilpo is one of Finland’s most versatile pianists, who also works as a conductor and music arranger. Hilpo studied at the Sibelius Academy under the guidance of Hamsa Al-Wadi Juris and Ilmo Ranta, as well as at the Queen Sofia College of Music in Madrid, where his teachers were Professor Dmitri Bashkirov and Claudio Martinez Mehner. Awarded in international competitions, Hilpo has performed as a solo recitalist, lied pianist, and chamber musician worldwide. In addition, he has been a soloist with several Finnish orchestras and has appeared at international music festivals. Marko Hilpo works at the University of the Arts Helsinki Sibelius Academy and also serves as a theater conductor. He has arranged and orchestrated various orchestral and chamber music works, as well as adapted music for theaters. His strengths include both, popular and classical music.