Jukka-Pekka Saraste | |
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 Jukka-Pekka Saraste in 2014 | |
| Born | 22 April 1956 Heinola, Finland |
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| Spouse | Marja-Liisa Ollila (since 1986) |
| Parent(s) | Kauko Pekka Saraste, Ritva Leena-Marjatta (Ruoranen) Saraste |
| Website | jukkapekkasaraste |
Jukka-Pekka Saraste (born 22 April 1956) is a Finnish conductor and violinist.
Saraste was born in Heinola, the son of teachers Kauko Pekka Saraste and Ritva Leena-Marjatta (Ruoranen) Saraste. [1] [2] [3] He was trained as a violinist at the Conservatory of Music in Lahti (Lahden Musiikkiopisto) and later studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula in the same class as Esa-Pekka Salonen and Osmo Vänskä. [4] Before becoming a conductor, Saraste was co-principal second violinist and later an associate to Leif Segerstam, with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSO).
In 1983, Esa-Pekka Salonen and Saraste co-founded the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, which specialises in performances of contemporary music. In 2000, Saraste also founded the Ekenäs Summer Concerts-Festival with the Finnish Chamber Orchestra, and he is currently the artistic advisor to both Festival and Orchestra. Saraste has directed the Finnish Chamber Orchestra on several tours, including tours in the United States and China.
In 1987, Saraste became the chief conductor of the RSO, and held the position until 2001. In 1987, he also became the principal conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and remained with the orchestra until 1991. Saraste now holds the title of Conductor Laureate of the RSO. He has twice recorded the complete symphonies of Jean Sibelius with the RSO.
Saraste became Music Director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in 1994. The later years of his tenure were marked by strife over the orchestra's financial difficulties, several musicians' strikes, and his unsuccessful efforts to improve the acoustics at Roy Thomson Hall. During the 1999 labour dispute, Saraste had offered to serve as mediator in the situation. [5] Saraste stepped down from his Toronto post in 2001.
From 2002 to 2005, Saraste served as the principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. In August 2006, he became Music Director of the Oslo Philharmonic, with an initial contract of 5 years. In June 2009, his Oslo contract was extended through the 2012–2013 season. [6] He concluded his Oslo tenure after the 2012–2013 season. [7] In December 2006, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra announced the appointment of Saraste as its artistic advisor from 2008 through 2011, and Artistic Director of the Lahti Sibelius Festival in 2008. In November 2008, the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne announced the appointment of Saraste as its next principal conductor, effective with the 2010–2011 season. [8] He served in the post through the 2018–2019 season. [9] In April 2022, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra announced the appointment of Saraste as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2023–2024 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. [10]
Saraste was awarded the Finnish State Prize for Music in 2000. He has received a Doctor honoris causa from York University (Toronto), and he is a Sibelius Medallist. Other honours also include the Sibelius Prize, awarded in Norway.
Esa-Pekka Salonen is a Finnish conductor and composer. He is the music director of the San Francisco Symphony and conductor laureate of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philharmonia Orchestra in London and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2024, he announced his resignation from the San Francisco Symphony upon the expiration of his contract in 2025.
Osmo Antero Vänskä is a Finnish conductor, clarinetist, and composer.
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.
The Oslo Philharmonic (Oslo-Filharmonien) is a Norwegian symphony orchestra based in Oslo, Norway. The orchestra traces its roots to the Philharmonic Society founded in 1847 and the Christiania Musical Association co-founded by Edvard Grieg in 1871, and was established in its current form in 1919. Since 1977, it has had its home in the Oslo Concert Hall. The orchestra gives an average of sixty to seventy symphonic concerts annually, the majority of which are broadcast nationally on the radio. The Oslo Philharmonic entered into a close collaboration with the newly established national broadcasting company, the NRK, in 1934. Its current chief conductor is Klaus Mäkelä.
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, Klaus Mäkelä and Tarmo Peltokoski.
Okko Tapani Kamu is a Finnish orchestral conductor and violinist.
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra 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 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 Jukka-Pekka Saraste, who has held his post since the start of the 2023–24 season..
Pekka Kuusisto is a Finnish musician.
Jorma Kalervo Hynninen is a Finnish baritone who performs regularly with the world's major opera companies. He has also worked in opera administration.
The Lahti Symphony Orchestra is a Finnish orchestra, based in the city of Lahti. The orchestra is resident at the Sibelius Hall. The orchestra was founded in 1910, and placed under the control of the Lahti municipality in 1949.
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.
Hannu Petteri Lintu is a Finnish conductor.
Michael Adelson is an American orchestral conductor. Adelson is a staff and cover conductor for the New York Philharmonic—where he also leads regular clinics and workshops for the orchestra's Department of Education—as well as conductor of the Auros Group for New Music in Boston.
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.
Klaus Mäkelä is a Finnish conductor and cellist. He is the chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic, and music director of the Orchestre de Paris. Mäkelä is also artistic partner and chief conductor-designate of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and music director-designate of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Dalia Stasevska is a Finnish conductor. She is currently principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra and chief conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
Caleb Young is an American conductor.
Tarmo Peltokoski is a Finnish conductor, pianist, and composer.
