"Finnish pianist Jouni Somero is a pianistic powerhouse"                            MusicWeb international 2012

"This is the most attractive one I have heard so far." (Tchaikowsky Complete Piano Works)
                     American Record Guide July-August 2012

"Ukrainian composer Sergei Bortkiewicz (1877-1952) has a true disciple in Finnish virtuoso Jouni Somero (b. 1963), who plies the Steinway D  with both authority and poetic feeling".
                     Audiophile Audition Feb 2013

"The set (Bortkiewicz Complete Piano Works) shows off the interpretive and technical abilities of the pianist, and Somero does a magnificent job with them."
            American Record Guide January/February 2013 

" Finnish pianist Somero is a big man, has a big technique, a big repertory, and performs mostly big works on the fringe of the repertory" 
                   American Record Guide May/June 2014

Dazzling and Muscular Performances of Godard's Best Piano Music.
"Compared with Reyes(Grand Piano),Somero is the better showman and performer. He exhibits tremendous brio and plays with colossal strenght and Romantic abandon in chrecendos...In Somero's hands, its passionate climax becomes a monumental grandiose outpouring: absolutely breath-takin and hearfelt."
                     Amazon February 2016

"Jouni Someron aktiivinen ja uuttera toiminta suomalaisen pianomusiikin esille saattamiseksi on hatunnoston arvoinen asia. Jo kolminumeroisissa lukemissa pyörivä julkaisujen määrä puhuu omaa varmaa kieltään: kukaan ei ole kuin Somero!."                                                          Yle 1 Uudet levyt 8.5.2018

"Jouni Somero soittaa miellyttävällä herkän lämmön ja voimallisen juhlavuuden yhdistelmällä ja tuo Kuulan kuulijan iholle."
                  Helsingin-Sanomat 15.5.2018

"I find Somero more authoritative in his interpretation, he puts greater weight behind the quicker and more forceful Preludes, while having a more delicate touch in the quieter, more introspective ones".
  César Cui 25 Preludes op.64        
                  MusicWeb International April 2019

"Der finnische Pianist mit einem Faible für russische Spätromantik kann einmal mehr überzeugend darlegen, dass in ihm eine russische Seele wohnt." César Cui 25 Preludes op.64
                  Piano News 6/2019

"Somero plays sensitively and with beautiful clarity." (The Golden Age of Pianist Composers, Grand Piano)
               Pizzicato 25.4.2022

          Someron Brahms vyöryy tunteella
"Someron muusikon ominaisuuksia ovat eläväisyys ja pärskyvä tunnevyörytys sekä myös tietynlainen huolettomuus. Sata levyä julkaisseelta tai ainakin sadalla levyllä soittaneella Somerolla ei ainakaan dynaamisuutta puutu. Julkaisujen täsmällinen lukumäärä ei liene kuitenkaan keskeinen seikka, vaikka se markkinapuheeseen oman lisänsä tuokin.
Brahmsin kaksikymmentäviisi Händel-muunnelmaa päätösfuugineen sekä f-molli-pianosonaatti soivat Somero-tyyliin luontevan musikanttisesti rynnistellen. Ne, jotka arvostavat voimallisen esittävää pianomusiikkia, arvostanevat myös Jouni Someron Brahms-taltiointeja"
                      Yle 1 Uudet levyt 8.12.2020

Award-winning pianist Jouni Somero (b. 12.8.1963) is one of the most active performers among contemporary Finnish musicians – to date he has given over 3,200 concerts across the world. He began playing organ when he was eight years old, but switched to the piano at the age of twelve, studying in Switzerland and at the Music Academy, Cologne under Prof. Herbert Drechsel. He was also mentored by György Cziffra and Michael Ponti. 

From 1981 to 1989 Somero lived in Germany, working as an assistant at the Music Academy, Düsseldorf. From 1990 Somero has pursued a career solely as a concert pianist. His vast, critically acclaimed discography spans over 100 recordings for labels including Naxos, Grand Piano, Sony BMG, Jubal, MILS and FC-Records among others, and includes world premiere recordings of several piano works by Blumenfeld, Godard, Seeling and Reinhold. Somero has also recorded the complete piano works of Bortkiewicz, Tchaikovsky, and Kuula, as well as the complete piano and chamber music of Salmenhaara. In 2012, his album of works by Rebikov was named piano album of the year by Fanfare magazine. His wide repertoire includes seldom heard music by, among others, Alkan, Godowsky and Rubinstein. He has also made several piano arrangements of orchestral, operatic and pop music, and his YouTube channel has garnered millions of views.                                                                                              

Palmgren Complete

Piano Works 1

 "Jouni Somero handles those challenges with aplomb, delivering a terrific performance. I especially enjoyed his playing of the Finnish Lyrical Pieces. Being Finnish, Somero provides additional insight into this music, I think."WTJU 28.4.2021

 "Throughout the disc the affection Somero has displayed for this music is unmistakable, and he has taken that one further stage by self-originated his recording sessions." David's Review Corner 
April 2021

"Ahkerasti levyttävä ja konsertoiva 
Jouni Somero soittaa kauniilla
kosketuksella ja tavoittaa hienosti
musiikin karaktäärit" Suomen 
Kuvalehti 13.5.2021

"Jouni Somero on tulkinnassaan
(Sonaatti d-molli) varmaotteisempi
kuin Izumi Tateno aikoinaan".
Rondo 27.4.2021                              

"Jouni Somero tekee Palmgren-sarjan
avauksessa tutun varmaa jälkeä"
Yle radio 1 Uudet levyt 27.5.2021

New!Palmgren Complete Piano Works 6

"Jouni Somero interpretiert diese Werke mit Temperament und Sensibilität und viel Sinn für die nordisch-melancholichen Momente." Rondo/CD zum Sonntag 27.1.2023

"Palmgrenin sisintä taitaa olla pohjoinen kaihomieli, mutta antautuessaan pianistiselle bravuurille hän on täysiverinen virtuoosi. Somero seuraa esimerkkiä komeilla tulkinnoilla Unkarilaisesta tanssista, kimmeltävästä Valssi-Kapriisista ja lisztiläistä demoniaa kipinöivästä Mefisto-valssista". Rondo Classic 29.1.2023

"Jouni Somero continues to impress me with his phenomenal technique. Palmgren was a great pianist - and a good deal of his music was written for performers at his level. Somero is egual to the task. Plus, he gives the smaller, slighter pieces egual attention. Simple though some may be, Somero's playing adds a bit of emotional weight." Charlottesville Classical 29.12.2022

"Jouni Somero is an exceptional performer. And so are his interpretations of his fellow countryman’s music. Somero plays with authority. He brings out the simple charms of Palmgren’s early works. And delivers his mature pieces with power and verve.
The more of Palmgren’s music I hear, the more I want to hear. Looking forward to volume 4" WEJU 12.10.2021

"Palmgren will be a discovery for many music lovers" Crescendo June 2021

"Somero performs with superb expression and confidence." WTJU 3.8.2021

Jouni Somero's performances maintain the level he set with volume one. His playing is clean, accurate, and assured. He also has a deep understanding of  Palmgren's music. His phrasing helps the listener follow Palmgren's motives as they overlap and transform.Carlottesville Classical 16.6.2022