Lilja Haatainen

Violin

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Lilja Haatainen Biography 26/27.docx

Lilja Haatainen is establishing herself as an artist of striking maturity, admired for her breathtaking sound and engaging stage presence. She has appeared as soloist with many of Finland’s leading orchestras, including the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Finnish Chamber Orchestra, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, Oulu Symphony Orchestra, Pori Sinfonietta, Tapiola Sinfonietta, and Vaasa City Orchestra, and in Germany with the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra. Her conductor collaborations include Nicholas Collon, Rumon Gamba, Manfred Honeck, Kristian Sallinen and Dalia Stasevska.

In the 2026/27 season, Lilja makes her debuts with the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and Munich Symphony Orchestra, collaborating respectively with Kasmir Uusitupa, Osmo Vänskä and Ross Jamie Collins. She also gives a New Year’s concert with the Hyvinkää Orchestra and a recital at the Verbier Festival at Schloss Elmau.

Recent highlights include an appearance at the International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht at the invitation of Janine Jansen, a successful debut with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Manfred Honeck, the opening concert of the Sion Festival, and performances at Finnish festivals, including the Naantali and Tammisaari Summer Festivals, and Mikkeli Festival with the Philharmonia Orchestra under Erkki Lasonpalo.

In March 2025, Lilja was featured on the Dutch classical television programme Podium Klassiek as its ‘Young Hero’, where she was interviewed and performed Pablo de Sarasate’s Zapateado.

Lilja made her concerto debut at the age of eight, when she was selected as soloist for the Oulu Symphony Orchestra’s Young Soloists concert. In 2022, she won the 10 – 12-year-old category of the national Jyväskylä Violin Competition and First Prize in the 9 – 13-year-old category of the Louis Spohr International Competition for Young Violinists in Germany.

Born in 2011, Lilja began playing the violin at the age of three. She studied at the Oulu Conservatory until 2022, when she moved to Porvoo to study with Janne Malmivaara. She is also a student of the Finnish Violin Academy, a special education programme for young talented violinists.

Lilja’s violin studies are supported by the Stretton Society, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Pro Musica and the Wihuri Foundation in Finland. Lilja plays an 18^th-century Italian violin on generous loan from a member of the Stretton Society.