Marko Ylönen

Cello

Cellist Marko Ylönen, who reached the finals of the Turku Cello Competitions at the age of fifteen, has played numerous roles throughout his career: as a soloist with Finnish and international orchestras, chamber musician, artistic director at various festivals, and as a teacher. He has achieved success in various national and international competitions and has recorded a significant amount of both classical and contemporary cello repertoire. Consequently, it is not surprising that his repertoire is extensive.

Ylönen has performed widely across Europe, the USA, China, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. He has recorded for labels such as Ondine, Finlandia, BIS, and Alba. In 1990, Marko Ylönen won second prize at the Turku Nordic Cello Competition and later achieved a prize position in the final of the Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow. In the spring of 1996, he won the first prize in the Concert Artists Guild competition in New York.

Marko Ylönen regularly performs as a soloist with most Finnish orchestras. In Central Europe, he has appeared as a soloist with ensembles such as Camerata Salzburg, the English Chamber Orchestra, the Dutch Chamber Orchestra, and the Prague Chamber Orchestra.

Since 2009, Marko Ylönen has been a professor of chamber music at the Sibelius Academy. His cello is a Bartolomeo Cristofori from 1720s.