Janne Palkisto fell in love with Crusell as a child

A music teacher probably had no idea what he was setting in motion when he suggested the clarinet as an instrument for the young Janne Palkisto.

To the 12-year-old schoolboy, the idea sounded perfectly reasonable, so he went home and announced that he was going to start playing. The real spark, however, came a little later when the young clarinetist discovered the music of Bernhard Crusell.

“It just clicked,” he recalls. “I listened to a lot of Crusell’s music and became more and more fascinated. I started finding out what kind of person this composer really was.”

Several decades have passed since those formative moments, but Palkisto’s career has continued along the path first laid out by Crusell.

His passion led him to a career as a journalist at Finland’s national broadcasting company Yle, where he spent nearly twenty years working with culture. Along the way he completed a doctoral dissertation on Crusell and later published a book on the life of the composer born in Uusikaupunki, based on his research.

It is therefore safe to call Palkisto Finland’s leading Crusell expert.

“Well, I wouldn’t necessarily put it that way myself,” he says with a smile, “but if you say so, I’ll accept it.”

In a way, the circle closed last September when Palkisto became executive director of Crusell Week, the festival dedicated to woodwind music. The young clarinetist who once slept on the wooden floor of Seikow school during his first visit to Uusikaupunki has come a long way alongside the composer whose music inspired him.

Leading a festival that bears Crusell’s name felt like the right step at this stage of his career.

“I had been doing my dream job for so long that I started wondering whether I could do something different as well. And perhaps this was also the right moment in my life for a change. Five years ago, I probably wouldn’t have applied for this position.”

The Palkisto family lives in Helsinki, but fortunately the executive director’s job can largely be carried out from the capital.

“I actually see that as an advantage, because many of the networks that are important for the festival are based in Helsinki,” he says.

He visits Uusikaupunki regularly, and every arrival in the old wooden town feels special.

“I prefer to travel slowly by public transport – first by train to Turku and then, after lunch, by bus to Uusikaupunki. The bus journey between Turku and Uusikaupunki is wonderful, a stretch of some of Finland’s most beautiful countryside with its manor houses,” Palkisto says.

Waiting at the destination is the charm of a small seaside town and friendly people who like to get straight to the point.

“In Helsinki, people chat first and then get to business. In Uusikaupunki it’s the other way around. Things are taken care of immediately, and once people know they can trust you, the conversation can continue for a long time.”

Palkisto describes Crusell Week, which has been organised for more than forty years, as a cultural treasure that Uusikaupunki should hold on to.

“There are not many festivals in the world that focus specifically on woodwind music,” he says. “Standing out is definitely a strength nowadays, and its importance will only grow in the future.”

The charming wooden town provides the perfect setting for a festival that attracts a dedicated audience looking for a very particular kind of musical experience.

“Uusikaupunki is beautiful as a jewel. I like being part of bringing life to a small town that is bigger than its size would suggest,” Palkisto says.

He considers himself fortunate to still be able to work with his passions – culture, classical music and Crusell.

“Of course, I’ve wondered whether my identity would be different if I worked for a company that makes chocolate cereal. Would I become so enthusiastic about chocolate cereal that I’d research and market it passionately, or would it just be a job while I continued spending my evenings with music?” he reflects. “When your passion becomes your profession, it is still work, and demanding in its own way.”

But what would Janne Palkisto do if he were not working in culture?

The answer comes instantly.

“I’d be a spy. I’d be good at that. Or maybe I’ve just watched too many James Bond films,” he says with a laugh.