Career
He has mainly written instrumental music for various chamber music line-ups, five concertos (one for mallet instruments, a viola concerto, an oboe, a cello, and a French horn concerto) as well as for symphony orchestra. His best-known work is the 2005 orchestral portrait Barlinnie Nine, a tribute to the Scottish football player Duncan Ferguson, then of Everton, whom Räihälä is known to be a supporter of. In 2004, another orchestral tribute, this time to the Islay single malt whisky Ardbeg, was chosen as one of recommended works in the international Uuno Klami competition.
The French horn concerto received the same accolade in 2014.
Apart from the Nordic countries, Räihälä"s music has been performed, among others, in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Netherlands, Germany, Russia and many other countries. As of 2015, Räihälä"s music is represented by the German publisher Sikorski Musikverlage.