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Iiro Rantala

Iiro Rantala is a virtuoso jazz pianist known for his technical skills and his humorous, genre-bending approach. He gained international acclaim as the founder of Trio Töykeät, a Finnish jazz group celebrated for its innovative and unconventional blend of jazz and classical music. In addition to jazz, he is also active in classical music and has worked as a composer for orchestra and theatre. IIro Rantala is regarded as one of Europe's best-known jazz pianists and impresses with his unpredictable and energetic playing style.

Stefano Bollani, Iiro Rantala: Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic XV

Read "Jazz at Berlin Philharmonic XV" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi

by Angelo Leonardi
August 15, 2025

L'irresistibile verve strumentale e umana di Stefano Bollani è ben nota al pubblico italiano, che ne apprezza le doti di showman e virtuoso, oltre che di grande artista. In questo concerto pianistico in duo col finlandese Iiro Rantala è il pubblico berlinese a condividere un'esperienza musicale ricca di brio e colpi di scena, dove il virtuosismo si fonde col gioco, in percorsi di libera inventiva. Il 1° febbraio 2023 i due sono saliti sul palco della Berliner Philharmoniker ...

Album Review

Iiro Rantala HEL trio: Tough Stuff

Read "Tough Stuff" reviewed by Neil Duggan

by Neil Duggan
August 20, 2024

There has always been a hint of playfulness evident in the work of Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala. That was clear in his much-admired recordings with Trio Töykeät. That trio called it a day in 2006 after multiple worldwide tours and 20 years together. Since then, the multi-talented Rantala has been involved in a range of activities, including orchestral recordings, presenting TV comedies and music programs, pop, opera, rock, podcasts and a variety of jazz formats. He has now ...

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Iiro Rantala: Goldberg Variation III

by Scott Lichtman
July 18, 2024

Finnish pianist and composer Iiro Rantala (pronounced “Ee'-ro Rahn'-tah-lah") is a grand master of jazz, classical music, and film scores; he even serves as a UN goodwill ambassador. Give him a Django Reinhardt-like gipsy swing piece, or an Art Tatum stride, or a Keith Jarrett solo improv, and he'll respond with even greater flow, tighter precision, lighter touch. It's next to impossible to offer one piece that represents his entire, must-listen-to repertoire, however, “Goldberg Variation III" captures his classically-based training ...

Album Review

Iiro Rantala & Ulf Wakenius: Good Stuff

Read "Good Stuff" reviewed by Neri Pollastri

by Neri Pollastri
June 4, 2018

Il pianista finlandese Iiro Rantala e il chitarrista tedesco Ulf Wakenius sono due tra i più straordinari musicisti europei e tuttavia --forse a causa del loro stile estroso ma relativamente convenzionale --anche tra i più sottovalutati. Alfieri della eccellente etichetta ACT, proprio grazie a quest'ultima hanno avuto modo di collaborare, per un concerto a più voci dedicato a Esbjörn Svensson, tenutosi a Berlino nel 2015, scoprendo grandi affinità e dando vita a un duo che da allora gira l'Europa (ma ...

Live Review

Iiro Rantala al Pinocchio Live Jazz di Firenze

by Neri Pollastri
March 27, 2015

Pinocchio Live Jazz Firenze 17.01.2015 Un jazz club può non apparire il luogo più adatto per mettere in scena un piano solo, tipo di performance che richiede attenzione e raccoglimento per essere apprezzata. Ma quando l'interprete del piano solo è non solo bravissimo, ma anche creativo, pirotecnico, ironico, irruente, allora le cose cambiano e anche un jazz club diventa una cornice adatta. È il caso del concerto tenuto dal finlandese Iiro ...

Live Review

Iiro Rantala at Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane

by Ian Patterson
March 22, 2015

Iiro Rantala Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane Dublin March 8, 2015 There's a commonly held belief that anything that is free can't be worth a damn. Not so. Luckily, thanks to Dublin City Council, the Arts Council of Ireland and Improvised Music Company, spring in the Irish capital welcomes not only free music, but music out of the top drawer at that. Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala' solo piano concert at the Dublin ...

Album Review

Iiro Rantala: My History Of Jazz

Read "My History Of Jazz" reviewed by Bruce Lindsay

by Bruce Lindsay
November 4, 2012

It is perhaps an odd history of jazz that opens and closes with a composition by Johann Sebastian Bach, but My History Of Jazz is a very personal history, the history of Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala. His previous album, Lost Heroes (ACT Music, 2011), was a solo piano recording; full of mesmerizingly beautiful music, it was one of the year's finest releases. My History Of Jazz doesn't quite match the consistency of Lost Heroes, but its best moments are on ...