Maria Kalaniemi & Pekko Käppi: Tåreportens Pärla, Kyynelportin helmi - Etno-Espa

In the hands of Maria Kalaniemi and Pekko Käppi, the Kalevala gave birth to a Swedish-language rune song - a story that captures music's inexplicable power to move the heart.

Tåreportens Pärla is a magical journey where powerful harmonies, delicate melodies, and resonant church bells sound together. The album was released digitally on New Year's Eve and as a CD on 9 January 2026. It has already received enthusiastic reviews since appearing on digital platforms.

Over her more than 40-year career, Maria Kalaniemi has transformed how we understand the accordion and the music played on it. She is known for a distinctive sensitivity as a performer and a highly developed virtuosity in mastering her instrument.

Solo performances and orchestra tours have taken Maria Kalaniemi's career - alongside her domestic and international projects - around the world, from Vienna's concert hall and Tokyo's festival hall to a manor hall in Espoo. She has brought Finland-Swedish musical heritage into her repertoire with distinction and created numerous original compositions. In 2018, Kalaniemi received the state music prize and was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.

Pekko Käppi has specialised in playing the jouhikko - a thousand-year-old instrument - and in the most tangled and dusty margins of archaic, unwritten song tradition. His raw, stripped-down performances have silenced audiences both at home and on international stages. Finnish voodoo and archaic primal force work irresistibly through his music.

Maria Kalaniemi - accordion and vocals
Pekko Käppi - jouhikko and vocals