Founder and Artistic Director of the Naantali Music Festival, Arto Noras is one of Finland’s most celebrated instrumentalists and amongst the most outstanding internationally acknowledged cellists of his generation, known both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. After completing his studies with Yrjo Selin at the Sibelius Academy, he studied with Paul Tortelier at the Paris Conservatoire, where he took the Premier Prix diploma in 1964. Two years later he was awarded second prize in the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the beginning of an international concert career, followed by the Danish Sonning Prize in 1967 and Finnish State music prize in 1972.
His repertoire covers all the principal works for cello, including those by contemporary composers, and he has recorded extensively for Finlandia. In 1970 Arto Noras was appointed Professor of Cello at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He is in considerable demand as a jurist for major competitions, including the Tchaikovsky, Casals and Cassado, and gives master-classes throughout the world. He is a member of the Helsinki Trio and a founder member of the Sibelius Academy Quartet.
