STORIES – Complete Published Piano Works by Cecilia Damström

Artist	Reetamaria Rajala
Publisher	Alba Records
Category	Piano Solo
Year	Published 2026 (Compositions from 2009-2024)
Duration	57:22 min
Recording & artistic production	Markku Veijonsuo
Piano technician	Ukko Mannermaa
Catalogue number	ABCD 497
EAN	6 429 811 264 182
ISRC	FIABA 2600016 … 26000027
Availability	Levykauppa Äx, Tritonus, Tidal, Apple Music, Lingonperry, Pro Studio Masters, Spotify, Amazon and YouTube (see below)

Program note

Pianist Reetamaria Rajala has recorded the complete published piano works of composer Cecilia Damström for her new album Stories, released on 6 February on Alba Records. The seven works interpreted by Rajala were composed by Damström between 2009 and 2024. Rajala will perform the album’s repertoire at a private event at the Steinway Gallery in Helsinki on Thursday 5 February, and the release will also be celebrated with a concert by Rajala at the Steinway Gallery in Stockholm on 18 February.

“Ever since I began playing the piano, I have been drawn to telling stories—and that idea has stayed with me all the way into my path as a composer. The album is full of stories ranging from nature conservation to mental health, from geometry to friendship and the stars, and everything in between. Reetamaria Rajala’s radiant personality shines through both the narrative and the music, and she brings out precisely the technical virtuosity and personal depth that my music requires,” says Cecilia Damström.

The album includes, among other works, the six-movement, approximately 20-minute suite Shapes, originally composed for accordion, for which Damström created a piano version for Rajala in 2024. Rajala gave the world premiere of the work at the Joensuu Music Festival in 2025.

“It’s like reading the daily newspaper!”

“My love for Cecilia Damström’s music has taken me as a pianist to an entirely new level—this has without question been both the most rewarding and the most technically demanding project I have ever undertaken,” says Reetamaria Rajala of her new album. “In Damström’s music, every subject touches on something vital in our time, and absolutely everyone can relate to these pieces—rather like reading the day’s newspaper.”

“Although Stories is filled with narratives, it does not only tell the stories of the pieces themselves, but also of my and Cecilia’s shared journey: how a coffee-table conversation in 2017 grew into a lasting friendship, artistic collaboration, and ultimately an album,” Rajala adds.

Reetamaria Rajala: Stories

The album will be released on streaming platforms on 6 February 2026 and was pre-released on the Lingonberry platform on 3 February 2026.

The physical CD can be ordered from the Tritonus record shop at Tritonus.fi.

Reetamaria Rajala has also recorded a podcast series in which she discusses the pieces on the Stories album with a rotating cast of guests. The seven-episode Stories Podcast series will be released on YouTube (with English subtitles!) and Spotify on Thursdays starting 5 February 2026. The series will also be broadcast on Radio Into on Saturdays at 16:00, with repeats on Sundays at 10:00.

From the booklet:

Please read the booklet of the Stories album! I have mostly used Cecilia Damström’s ready-made texts as a basis, but I have added my own comments.  Big thanks to Svenska Kulturfonden, Amos Andersons fond and Musiikin Edistämissäätiö for their support. I also want to thank my team, it was a blessing to work with you all! Hugs, Reeta

Find the booklet here!

Track listing:

Shapes (version for piano), 

Epitaph, 

Characters, 

Under Stjärnhimlen, 

Unda, 

Piano Delirium,  

Psychedelic 

 

Reviews

Reetamaria Rajala is the ideal interpreter for Damström’s piano music, which ranges from portrait miniatures to cosmic polygons. Overall, the album serves as an appetiser that leaves you wanting more. 

-Auli Särkiö-Pitkänen, FMQ Finnish Music Quarterly, March 2026

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The album reveals the remarkable breadth of Damström’s musical imagination. Rajala has immersed herself deeply in these works, internalising them fully and performing with liberated inspiration and assured authority.

-Tuulikki Närhinsalo, Rondo, March 2026

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One of the album’s overarching strengths is that from the very first moment one senses that Reetamaria Rajala is in complete command of her instrument. Whether the music surges and becomes almost unmanageable, or settles quietly to the floor, as if one could almost stroke it, she remains utterly assured. On Stories, Rajala is required to draw on a wide range of skills, and she delivers convincingly throughout.

–Rachel Einarsson, Klassisk bureau, February 2026

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Performances

2025 June 12 Reetamaria Rajala at Joensuu Musiikkijuhlat – More info

2026 February 5 Reetamaria Rajala STORIES album release at Steinway Gallery Helsinki – More info

2026 February 18 Reetamaria Rajala STORIES album release at Steinway Gallery Stockholm – More info