Born to a Finnish family in Japan, violinist Satu Vänskä has developed an international profile through her role as Principal Violin with the Australian Chamber Orchestra (ACO), a position she has held for the past twenty years. She was named Young Soloist of the Year by Sinfonia Lahti in 1998, and a few years later was prize winner of the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben. From 2001 Satu played under the auspices of Lord Menuhin’s Live Music Now Foundation, which gave her the opportunity to perform with musicians including Radu Lupu and Heinrich Schiff.

The program for her recital with Konstantin Shamray weaves together an intricate tapestry of bagatelles, preludes, dances and lullabies. The first half offers postcards from Eastern Europe, with music by Valentin Silvestrov (Ukraine), Dmitri Shostakovich (Russia), and Fryderyk Chopin (Poland). The second half celebrates Satu’s Finnish roots with gorgeous vignettes by Aulis Sallinen and Jean Sibelius, before concluding with Beethoven’s Champagne sonata.