The Turku Philharmonic Orchestra (Finnish: ''Turun Filharmoninen Orkesteri'') is a Finnish orchestra based in

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

. 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 Turku Concert Hall ( fi, Turun konserttitalo, sv, Åbo konserthus) is located on the north side of the Puutori market square in Turku, Finland. The hall was designed by architect Risto-Veikko Luukkonen and constructed in 1952. It was the first ...

, the first purpose-built concert hall in Finland, completed in 1952. The orchestra was founded in 1790 under the name ''Turun Soitannollinen Seura'' (Musical Society of Turku). In 1927, the municipality of Turku took ownership of the ensemble, with

Tauno Hannikainen Tauno Heikki Hannikainen (February 26, 1896 – October 12, 1968) was a Finnish cellist and conductor. Born in Jyväskylä, he was the son of the composer Pekka Juhani Hannikainen. The pianist Ilmari Hannikainen and the conductor Väinö Hannik ...

as the orchestra's first chief conductor under municipal management. The orchestra roster currently numbers 74 musicians. Since January 2012, the orchestra's principal conductor is

Leif Segerstam Leif Selim Segerstam ( , ; born 2 March 1944) 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. Segerstam has con ...

. The orchestra's current resident composer is

Mikko Heiniö Mikko Kyösti Heiniö (born 18 May 1948) is a Finnish composer and musicologist. Life Mikko Heiniö was born in 1948 in Tampere, and studied composition with Joonas Kokkonen and piano with Liisa Pohjola at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki from 197 ...

. The orchestra released its first commercial recording in 1979. It has since recorded commercially for such labels as Ondine, Finlandia, and

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...

. With Segerstam, the orchestra has released a series of albums for Naxos of the music of

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

. The orchestra began to release monthly streaming videos of selected concerts in September 2016.

Principal conductors

(1927–1928) * Toivo Haapanen (1928–1929) *

(1929–1939) * Eero Selin (1940–1941) * Ole Edgren (1941–1962) *

Jorma Panula Jorma Juhani Panula (born 10 August 1930) 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 M ...

(1963–1965) * Paavo Rautio (1965–1974) * Pertti Pekkanen (1974–1986) * Igor Bezrodnyi (1986–1990) *

Jacques Mercier Jacques Mercier (born 17 October 1943 in Mouscron) is a Belgian writer and television and radio presenter. The third eldest son of René and Denise Mercier, Jacques Mercier was educated at St. Joseph's College. Mercier joined RTBF in Septembe ...

(1990–1995) *

Hannu Lintu Hannu Petteri Lintu (born 13 October 1967) is a Finnish conductor. Biography Lintu was born in Rauma. He studied piano and cello at the Turku Conservatory and at the Sibelius Academy. He also studied conducting with Atso Almila, and later with ...

(1998–2001) * Tibor Bogányi (2003–2006) * Petri Sakari (2007–2011) *

(2012–2019) *

Olli Mustonen Olli Mustonen (born 7 June 1967 in Vantaa, Finland) is a Finnish pianist, conductor, and composer. Biography Mustonen studied harpsichord and piano from the age of five with Ralf Gothóni and then Eero Heinonen. He studied composition with Ei ...

(2021–present)

References

External links

Turku Philharmonic Orchestra official English website

Turku Philharmonic Orchestra on Suosio (Association of Finnish Symphony Orchestras)

David Hurwitz, 'More Excellent Rare Sibelius from Segerstam on Naxos'. Review from ClassicsToday.com

* [http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=13724 Colin Anderson, 'Sibelius’s music for ''Scaramouche'' – Turku Philharmonic Orchestra/Leif Segerstam [Naxos]'. Classical Source website, June 2016] {{Authority control Finnish orchestras Culture in Turku 1790 establishments in Finland Musical groups established in the 18th century Tourist attractions in Turku