Finnish conductor, violinist and composer Jaakko Kuusisto died today in Oulu, Finland, at the age of 48. Kuusisto was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the summer of 2020 and despite surgery, his condition worsened at the beginning of this year and led to the musician’s death. Jaakko’s brother, Pekka Kuusisto, reported the death on social media.
Jaakko Kuusisto was born in Helsinki in 1974 into a family of musicians. He and his brother Pekka started playing the violin as children. Jaakko studied at the Sibelius Academy and Indiana University. He made a remarkable career as soloist, later also as conductor. He composed some 40 compositions. Pizzicato’s archives comprises several reviews of his recordings.