Cellist Apocalyptica Perttu Kivilaakso, whose biography is the subject of this article, has gained great popularity among fans of such an original genre of music as symphonic metal. He is loved and appreciated by many among fans of the classical style in music.
Musician childhood
In 1978, May 11, the future famous cellist Perttu Kivilaakso was born. In the city of Helsinki, which is located in Finland, his first years of life passed. The boy became interested in music from childhood. Perttu's father, Juhani, played the cello beautifully. He taught his son. At the age of five, Kivilaakso picked up an instrument that changed his future. As a small child, the musician with all his heart fell in love with opera. Moreover, from an early age he began to attend various concerts where symphony orchestras performed classical music. Since the boy’s father played in the opera ensemble, Perttu had no shortage of access to music and performances. Since childhood, Kivilaakso Perttu began collecting plates with various classical works. To date, the musician’s collection includes a huge number of opera recordings, among which there are quite rare and difficult to find compositions. Already at the age of twelve, Perttu, together with the Finnish Symphony Orchestra, played for recording on the radio.
School years
After Perttu Kivilaakso attended the opera festival, which was held in the fortress of Savonlinna, he finally decided that he would devote his life to music. Therefore, he left for Helsinki, where he entered the Sibelius Academy of Music. In 2000, he graduated and received an honors degree. Since 1998, Perttu began playing in the Helsinki Orchestra. He worked there until 2005. The young man decided to learn how to play several more instruments. In addition to the cello, he mastered the art of playing piano and guitar. Moreover, Perttu has one very important achievement. At the International Cello Competition, he was able to take third place. Not one Finn has yet succeeded in achieving such a result.
Before the start of a rock career
After completing his studies, Perttu Kivilaakso went on tour to his native country. His virtuoso playing the cello could not help but penetrate the hearts of fans of the classics. Therefore, soon the musician began performing not only in Finland, but also in many countries around the world. Together with various pianists, he gave concerts in countries such as Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Israel, Russia, the USA, Japan and Estonia. Perttu was the soloist of the orchestra, which consisted of ninety people. Several large European classical music festivals could not do without the participation of Kivilaakso as the main cellist in performances.
Member of Apocalyptica
With the leader of the rock group Apocalyptica, whose name is Eikka Toppinen, Perttu Kivilaakso has collaborated since 1995. But he became an official member of the team only in 1999. Perttu was able to join the rock band when he was seventeen. But it seemed to the Apocalyptica participants that this could negatively affect Pertt's career in the classical direction. After all, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra signed a lifelong contract with Kivilaakso, and this can be considered an exceptional case. For his rock band, Kivilaakso Perttu composed several compositions that acquired the following names: Conclusion, Forgiveness and Farewell. Today, Apocalyptica, whose members play symphonic metal, is very popular in many countries. Connoisseurs of quality music speak very well about the band and its members. Perttu is also not deprived of attention. After all, he continues to show himself not only as a virtuoso musician, but also as a talented composer.
Personal life
Perttu Kivilaakso and his wife Anne-Marie Berg broke up in 2014. They have been together for six years. Anne-Marie worked as a model. She lived with Perttu in Finland, in the city of Turku. As Berg herself said, she could not be a simple addition to the life of a musician. Anne-Marie also announced that this relationship took too much power from her. Now she wants to restore peace of mind. In those years when the couple was together, she wanted to take first place in her husband’s heart. But for Kivilaakso, the main thing in life was music.