“Piano trio Arcturus is an ingenious construction of musical material”
“As a whole, the trio is an uplifting tour-de-force”
Jari Kallio on his blog on 31st of August, 2020

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Ari Romppanen is a composer of contemporary art music who draws influences for his artistic work from various sources, such as space, virtuosity, or Japanese culture, from which he combines his own characteristic musical language. His output consists mainly of chamber music and works for solo instrument. Trained as a pianist, he has also co-operated with several pianists, especially with pianist Eriko Takahashi since 2018. He has also received many commissions all the way from Japan. In many works he has used improvisation, and several of his piano works have been awarded in different composition competitions. In 2006 he worked in Buenos Aires with a local improvisation group as invited by Finnish Embassy in Argentina and a local university.

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 “Romppanen’s “Erakis,” world premiere recording by Takahashi, is … as complex and virtuoso as Stockhausen’s
piano pieces. Or perhaps this expressionistic sensibility is more like Berg? In this piece, Takahashi produces a
sharp and crystallized sound. If you listen closely, you will notice the countless melodies in the complex counterpoint.”
Toshio Saito on his review on Eriko Takahashi’s new CD on Mercure des Arts, 15st of April, 2025

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Together with professor Seppo Kimanen and Dr. Lasse Lehtonen, Ari Romppanen is a founding member of FinJa Music, which aims to promote musical co-operation and exchange between Finland and Japan, to make Japanese music better known in Finland, and to maintain relationship with its partner society in Tokyo, Japan Finland Contemporary Music Society. In 2024 he served as artistic director when planning and organizing a symposium introducing Finnish contemporary music in Tokyo. Alongside Japan, he has also co-operated with Kunstverein Alte Schmiede, maintained by City of Vienna, by co-planning a Finnish-Japanese-Austrian chamber music program for their concert series.

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 “Takahashi’s translucent and dedicated playing is an ideal angle for Romppanen’s complex, multi-layered music
bigger than human. The pianist enjoys the glassy, ​​dripping tones and never beats, allowing the textures like
constellations to shine through. Sandbox of Almach is a kind of sonata, in which the parts referring to the different
types of children’s play give the impression of a rugged but playful explanation of the world, of the universe as
organized chaos.“
Auli Särkiö-Pitkänen on review of Eriko Takahashi’s new CD in Kompositio 2/2025

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Ari Romppanen has participated few collaborative projects combining theater, dance, contemporary circus and music. Some dramaturgical ideas derived from these projects have also influenced on his other works. In addition to composing, Romppanen has taught both piano and composing and also performed himself as a pianist. Further he has held several positions of responsibility, for example in the board of Sibelius Fund of the Society of Finnish Composers.

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Sandbox of Almach (2019-2020)
Performed by Eriko Takahashi
First performance in Finland

Recorded in Helsinki, Huopalahti Church,
July 7, 2023, in composition concert
“Towards the Silence”

Listen to other works on ‘Listen’ page

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“Thank you all for the enjoyable co-operation and especially Ari for the great music!
In particular, I think the song cycle ‘Valo rakentuu palasista’ is downright a masterpiece.
Toned, refined, insightful music and a controlled whole.”
Mikko Raasakka

“…in its apparent simplicity, a truly captivating work that I would have liked to
hear, even immediately, again.”
Jyri Ojala on newspaper Karjalainen on 12th of July, 2018

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