Mikko Franck is a Finnish conductor and violinist.
Franck was born in Helsinki. He began learning the violin at the age of 5 and started violin studies at the Sibelius Academy in 1992. The Academy let Franck conduct an orchestra in 1995, whereupon Jorma Panula enlisted him as a private student. Franck entered Panula's conducting class at the Academy in 1996, leaving in 1998 as his international career began. [1] He said Panula "gave me everything that can be taught about this profession."
Before age 23, Franck had made his conducting début with all leading Scandinavian orchestras, with the London Philharmonia, London Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Berlin State Opera Orchestra and the Israel Philharmonic.
His first recording, of Jean Sibelius, received a Grammy nomination for "Best Orchestral Performance". He champions Einojuhani Rautavaara's works.
Franck was the Belgian National Orchestra's artistic director from 2002 to 2007. He became the Finnish National Opera's general music director in August 2006. Six months later he claimed a loss of confidence in the company's then-general director Erkki Korhonen and administrative director Pekka Kauranen, and announced his resignation. [2] Instead the company nominated Franck to the dual post of Artistic Director and General Music Director. [3] [4] His term in both posts finished in 2013. [5] Franck became music director of Radio France's Orchestre philharmonique in September 2015. [6]
Franck and opera director Martina Pickert married in 2006 and divorced in 2010.
Einojuhani Rautavaara was a Finnish composer of classical music. Among the most notable Finnish composers since Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), Rautavaara wrote a great number of works spanning various styles. These include eight symphonies, nine operas and twelve concertos, as well as numerous vocal and chamber works. Having written early works using 12-tone serial techniques, his later music may be described as neo-romantic and mystical. His major works include his first piano concerto (1969), Cantus Arcticus (1972) and his seventh symphony, Angel of Light (1994).
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.
Leif Selim Segerstam is a Finnish conductor, composer, violinist, violist and pianist, especially known for writing 350 symphonies as of August 2022, along with other works in his extensive oeuvre.
Atso Almila is a Finnish orchestral conductor, music director, composer, trombonist and teacher.
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.
Sakari Markus Oramo, is a Finnish conductor. He is chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Jorma Kalervo Hynninen is a Finnish baritone who performs regularly with the world's major opera companies. He has also worked in opera administration.
Susanna Ulla Marjukka Mälkki is a Finnish conductor and cellist.
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.
Lilli Katriina Paasikivi-Ilves is the artistic director of the Finnish National Opera since 2013 and a mezzo-soprano.
John Gunnar Rafael Storgårds is a Finnish violinist and conductor.
Aleksis Kivi (1995–96) is an opera in two acts by Einojuhani Rautavaara, to a libretto by the composer. It was first performed by the Savonlinna Opera Festival on 8 July 1997, with Jorma Hynninen in the title role. The opera deals with episodes in the life of Aleksis Kivi, the Finnish national writer. The opera was written at the request of Hynninen.
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.
Bjarte Engeset is a Norwegian classical conductor.
Santtu-Matias Rouvali is a Finnish conductor and percussionist. He is currently chief conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra and of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra.
A Requiem in Our Time, Op. 3, is a composition for brass band and percussion by Einojuhani Rautavaara, written in 1953. It won him international attention while still a student.
Rasputin is a 2003 Finnish-language opera in three acts by Einojuhani Rautavaara.
Klaus Mäkelä is a Finnish conductor and cellist.