Pauli Uusitalo (b. 6 March 1991) is a Finnish composer whose output mostly consists of chamber, piano, and electroacoustic music. He studied composition primarily under Jukka Koskinen (1965-2023) starting in 1998, and he has participated in masterclasses in both piano and composition with teachers including Meri Louhos and Alastair White. Uusitalo began playing the piano at the age of four and has since expanded his musical practice to instruments such as the alto saxophone and the sitar. As a performer, he has presented his own piano works in numerous concerts.
His compositions have been performed in a variety of international contexts. In 2023, his string trio Jousitrio was featured at the Tampering Festival and at the Bled Festival in Slovenia with support from the Slovenian Ministry of Culture. His electroacoustic music was presented at the opening concert of the first Nouxfest Festival in 2024. The same year, his 20-movement piano cycle Espoo Suite, commissioned by the City of Espoo, was performed as part of Espoo Day celebrations. His chamber work Oesophagus for flute, clarinet, cello, and vibraphone was performed in 2023 by the Australian ensemble Ensemble Offspring. Uusitalo’s artistic interests include experimental music, unusual instruments, and global musical traditions. His compositional language draws on early 20th-century expressionism, later avant-garde developments, jazz, and diverse influences from world music. He is especially interested in Indian, South-East Asian and African musical traditions. He has also composed vocal music in languages that are rarely heard in this context, including Esperanto, Toki Pona and Indonesian.
https://www.pauliuusitalo.com/
https://soundcloud.com/pauli-uusitalo-621438026