Fourteen-year-old Haatainen studies the violin with Janne Malmivaara at the String Academy and the Porvoo Region Music Institute.
The classical music management company HarrisonParrott has signed a worldwide general management contract with 14-year-old Finnish violinist Lilja Haatainen. Lilja is a student at the Instrument Academies, studying with Janne Malmivaara at the String Academy and the Porvoo Region Music Institute.
Despite her young age, Lilja is already developing a reputation for her breathtaking sound and engaging stage presence. She has performed as a soloist with many of the Finnish orchestras such as Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lahti Symphony Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Finnish Chamber Orchestra, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, Oulu Sinfonia, Espoo City Orchestra and Vaasa City Orchestra as well as in Germany with the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor collaborations include Nicholas Collon, Dalia Stasevska, Kristian Sallinen and Rumon Gamba.
In the summer of 2025, Lilja performs both as a soloist and in chamber music ensembles at several music festivals in Finland including the Tammisaari Summer Festival. Next season she takes part at the International Chamber Music Festival, Utrecht at the invitation of Janine Jansen. She also makes her debuts with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra under Manfred Honeck as well as the Pori Sinfonietta and the Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra.
In March 2025, Lilja was featured on the Dutch Classical TV programme, Podium Klassiek, as their ‘Young Hero’ where she was interviewed and performed Pablo de Sarasate’s Zapateado.
Born in 2011, Lilja started playing the violin at the age of three. She studied at the Oulu Conservatory until 2022 when she moved to study with Janne Malmivaara at the String Academy and the Porvoo Region Music Institute.
"A top management company can create an impressive artistic career for a musician. Ideally, a young artist wouldn't need to spend so much time on competitions, but could instead focus on building a broad repertoire and developing their artistic personality and unique approach to music-making," says Lilja’s teacher, Janne Malmivaara.
The contract between Lilja and HarrisonParrott was carefully drawn up and finalised by mutual agreement. All parties agree that Lilja's career should develop steadily with a focus on pedagogy.
"Lilja’s age naturally affects her repertoire and the number of concerts she can perform in. We won’t be rushing into anything; we’ll make sure that she can finish school and continue her violin studies as normal," says Malmivaara.
Lilja’s violin studies have been kindly supported by Stretton Society, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Pro Musica and the Wihuri Foundation in Finland.
The String Academy is part of the Instrument Academies which provide talented and motivated children and young people with the highest quality music education.
More information
Janne Malmivaara
Violinist and violin teacher
String Academy
+358 40 828 5254
Katie Cardell-Oliver
Director, Artist Management
HarrisonParrott
+44 7760 998894
katie.cardell-oliver@harrisonparrott.co.uk