Anssi Karttunen is a passionate supporter of contemporary music. His collaboration with composers has led to premiere over 170 works by composers as diverse as Magnus Lindberg, Kaija Saariaho, Rolf Wallin, Luca Francesconi and Tan Dun, some of whom have written works for cello and orchestra especially for him.

Anssi Karttunen performs the entire repertoire for cello and has also recovered many forgotten masterpieces, as well as transcribed numerous pieces for cello or chamber ensembles.