The Finnish accordionist, Janne Rättyä began playing piano at five years old and shortly thereafter discovered the accordion. At the early age of 11, he was accepted as a student in the Youth Academy of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He continued his studies in the academy's soloist department under Matti Rantanen and completed his Masters of Music degree in 1998. Rättyä finished his post-graduate studies at the Folkwang Hochschule Essen (Folkwang University for Music, Theater and Dance, Germany) with Professor Mie Miki, passing his Concert Exam with distinction in 2000.

Rättyä received grants and fellowships from, among others, the Wihuri Foundation, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Art Council of Finland, and the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). Rättyä was awarded numerous prizes in various national and international classical accordion and soloist competitions, most notably first prize in the Arrasate Hiria competition in Spain in 1996.

In 2002, Rättyä debuted in the Chamber Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic (with the Debut Series of Deutschland Radio Berlin), performing the first classical accordion recital ever presented there. He performs as a soloist and chamber musician throughout Europe, in the U.S., and since his 1999 Japanese debut in Voris Hall, Tokyo, regularly tours Japan.

Rättyä has introduced his instrument to Venues like Savonlinna Opera Festival, Van Vlaanderen Festival, Felix Meritis Konzertzaal (Amsterdam), NY Symphony Space, Pacific Rim Music Festival, Kyoto International Music Festival, Toppan Hall (Tokyo), Wien Modern, Mouvement Musik of 21st Century (SRF), Musica Scienza (Roma), Steierische Herbst Festival and Salzburger Aspekte among others.

Rättyä appears among others under the German CD label VMS and the Japanese Octavia Records label. Rättyä collaborates closely with contemporary composers Aldo Clementi, Dieter Schnebel, Gerhard Stäbler, Uljas Pulkkis, and Iris ter Schiphorst, among others, to create new music for his young instrument. Rättyä taught classical accordion at the Folkwang Hochschule Essen in Germany and at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland, from 2000 to 2002. He has been professor for Classical Accordion Studies at the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz, Austria, since 2003.