Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra | |
---|---|
Orchestra | |
Native name |
|
Founded | 1927 |
Location | Helsinki |
Concert hall | Helsinki Music Centre |
Principal conductor | Nicholas Collon |
Website | Official website |
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Finnish: Radion sinfoniaorkesteri, Swedish: Radions symfoniorkester) is a Finnish broadcast orchestra based in Helsinki, and the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yle). The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the Helsinki Music Centre. Primary funding comes from television licence fees from the Finnish population.
The ensemble was founded in 1927 as the Radio Orchestra with ten musicians, with Erkki Linko as its first conductor. Though never holding the title of chief conductor, Linko remained affiliated with the orchestra until 1952. Toivo Haapanen became the orchestra's first chief conductor in 1929 and held the post until his death in 1950. The orchestra performed mainly studio concerts for the first portion of its history. Until World War II, the orchestra gave only 20 public concerts, with freelance musicians to bolster the ranks.
After World War II, with the new Director General Hella Wuolijoki in place, the orchestra roster expanded to 50 musicians. In September 1947, the orchestra initiated a series of "Tuesday Concerts" at Helsinki Town Hall. The roster grew to 67 musicians by 1953. The orchestra's second chief conductor, Nils-Eric Fougstedt, served from 1950 until his death in 1961, and expanded the orchestra's repertoire. The third chief conductor, Paavo Berglund, had been a violinist in the orchestra 10 years prior to his 1961 accession to the chief conductorship. The ensemble had grown to 90 members in the 1970s, into a full symphony orchestra.
Jukka-Pekka Saraste, chief conductor from 1987 to 2001, is now the orchestra's honorary conductor. Sakari Oramo was chief conductor from 2003 to 2012, having earlier been concertmaster (leader) of the orchestra. In December 2010, the orchestra announced the appointment of Hannu Lintu as its eighth chief conductor, as of the 2013-2014 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. Lintu held the title of principal guest conductor during the 2012-2013 season. [1] In April 2016, the FRSO announced the extension of Lintu's contract as chief conductor through 2021. [2] In April 2019, the FRSO announced that Lintu is to conclude his chief conductorship of the orchestra at the close of the 2020-2021 season. [3]
In 2017, Nicholas Collon first guest-conducted the FRSO. In May 2019, the FRSO announced the appointment of Collon as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2021-2022 season. He is the first non-Finnish conductor to be named chief conductor of the FRSO. [4] In February 2023, the FRSO announced the extension of Collon's contract as its chief conductor through the 2027-2028 season. [5]
The orchestra's discography includes, besides the music of Jean Sibelius, music by other Finnish composers such as Paavo Heininen, Joonas Kokkonen, [6] Magnus Lindberg [7] and Aarre Merikanto. They have also recorded repertoire by non-Finnish composers, such as symphonies of Gustav Mahler and Carl Nielsen, and music of Béla Bartók. [8]
Paavo Allan Engelbert Berglund was a Finnish conductor and violinist.
The Sibelius Academy is part of the University of the Arts Helsinki and a university-level music school which operates in Helsinki and Kuopio, Finland. It also has an adult education centre in Järvenpää and a training centre in Seinäjoki. The Academy is the only music university in Finland. It is among the biggest European music universities with roughly 1,400 enrolled students.
Jorma Juhani Panula is a Finnish conductor, composer, and teacher of conducting. He has mentored many Finnish conductors, such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mikko Franck, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Osmo Vänskä and Klaus Mäkelä.
Mika Väyrynen is an accordion artist.
Sakari Markus Oramo, is a Finnish conductor. He is chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra is an orchestra based in Helsinki, Finland. Founded in 1882 by Robert Kajanus, the Philharmonic Orchestra was the first permanent orchestra in the Nordic countries. Today, its primary concert venue is the Helsinki Music Centre; the current chief conductor is Susanna Mälkki, who has held her post since 2016.
The Bard, Op. 64, tone poem for orchestra written in 1913 by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It was first performed in Helsinki on 27 March 1913 by the Philharmonic Society Orchestra, conducted by the composer himself, but he revised it in 1914. The new version was first performed in Helsinki on 9 January 1916, again under the baton of the composer.
The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm. Its principal venue is the Konserthuset.
Jukka Santeri Tiensuu is a Finnish contemporary classical composer, harpsichordist, pianist and conductor.
Ondine is a Finnish classical record label founded in 1985 in Helsinki, Finland. Its catalogue with several award-winning releases includes over 600 titles with major Finnish and international artists.
Olli Mustonen is a Finnish pianist, conductor, and composer.
The Helsinki Music Centre is a concert hall and a music center in Töölönlahti, Helsinki. The building is home to Sibelius Academy and two symphony orchestras, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.
Nicholas Collon is a British conductor.
Hannu Petteri Lintu is a Finnish conductor.
The Turku Philharmonic Orchestra is a Finnish orchestra based in Turku, Finland. It is the oldest orchestra in Finland, and one of the world's oldest still active orchestras. The Turku Philharmonic is resident at the Turku Concert Hall, the first purpose-built concert hall in Finland, completed in 1952.
The Avanti! Chamber Orchestra is a Finnish ensemble that focuses on contemporary music. The ensemble when it performs varies in size from a solo player to a symphony orchestra. Avanti! Chamber Orchestra won the Gramophone Prize with their first recording. The Orchestra also holds a music festival of its own each summer.
Eero Olavi Hämeenniemi is a Finnish composer, musician and writer. He is an adjunct professor at the University of the Arts Helsinki and he has played
Sebastian Fagerlund is a Finnish composer. He is described as “a post-modern impressionist whose sound landscapes can be heard as ecstatic nature images which, however, are always inner images, landscapes of the mind”. Echoes of Western culture, Asian musical traditions, and heavy metal have all been detected in his music.
Toivo Elias Haapanen was a Finnish conductor and music scholar.
The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) was one of the most important symphonists of the early twentieth century: his seven symphonies, written between 1899 and 1924, are the core of his oeuvre and stalwarts of the standard concert repertoire. Many of classical music's conductor–orchestra partnerships have recorded the complete set, colloquially known as the "Sibelius cycle". Specifically, the standard cycle includes: