Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra
Encyclopedia
The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Finnish: [Yleis]Radion sinfoniaorkesteri, Swedish: [Rund]Radions Symfoniorkester) is a Finnish orchestra based in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

, and is the chief radio orchestra
Radio orchestra
A radio orchestra is an orchestra employed by a radio network in order to provide programming as well as sometimes perform incidental or theme music for various shows on the network. In the heyday of radio such orchestras were numerous, performing classical, popular, light music and jazz...

 of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE). The orchestra primarily gives concerts at the Helsinki Music Centre
Helsinki Music Centre
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....

. 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
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, 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
Nils-Eric Fougstedt
Nils-Eric Fougstedt was a Finnish conductor and composer. He attended the Helsinki Conservatory and counted Erik Furuhjelm among his teachers....

, served from 1950 until his death in 1961, and expanded the orchestra's repertoire. The third chief conductor, Paavo Berglund
Paavo Berglund
Paavo Allan Engelbert Berglund is a Finnish conductor.Born in Helsinki, Berglund studied the violin as a child, and played an instrument made by his grandfather. By age 15, he had decided on music as his career, and by 18 was playing in restaurants...

, 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
Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Jukka-Pekka Saraste is a Finnish conductor and violinist.Saraste was trained as a violinist. He later studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula, in the same class as Esa-Pekka Salonen and Osmo Vänskä...

, chief conductor from 1987 to 2001, is now the orchestra's conductor laureate. Since 2003, the orchestra's chief conductor is Sakari Oramo
Sakari Oramo
Sakari Markus Oramo OBE is a Finnish conductor.Oramo started his career as a violinist and concertmaster of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 1989, he enrolled in Jorma Panula's conducting class at the Sibelius Academy...

. In September 2010, the orchestra announced the conclusion of Oramo's tenure as principal conductor as of May 2012. In December 2010, the orchestra announced the appointment of Hannu Lintu
Hannu Lintu
Hannu Petteri Lintu is a Finnish conductor.Lintu studied piano and cello at the Turku Conservatory and at the Sibelius Academy. He also studied conducting with Atso Almila, and later with Jorma Panula and Eri Klas. He took part in conducting master classes with Ilya Musin. Lintu won the Nordic...

 as its eighth chief conductor, as of the 2013-2014 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. Lintu is to hold the title of principal guest conductor during the 2012-2013 season.

The orchestra's discography includes, besides the music of Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...

, music by other Finnish composers such as Paavo Heininen
Paavo Heininen
Paavo Heininen is a Finnish composer and pianist. He studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, where he was taught composition by Aarre Merikanto, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Einar Englund, and Joonas Kokkonen...

, Joonas Kokkonen
Joonas Kokkonen
Joonas Kokkonen was a Finnish composer. He was one of the most internationally famous Finnish composers of the 20th century after Sibelius; his opera The Last Temptations has received over 500 performances worldwide, and is considered by many to be Finland's most distinguished national opera.-...

, Magnus Lindberg
Magnus Lindberg
Magnus Lindberg is a Finnish composer and pianist. He is currently the composer-in-residence at the New York Philharmonic.-Education:...

 and Aarre Merikanto
Aarre Merikanto
Aarre Merikanto was a Finnish composer.He was the son of Liisa Häyrynen and the famous romantic composer, professor Oskar Merikanto. His childhood he spent in Vilppula, Finland. From year 1919, he was married to Meri Grönmark...

. They have also recorded repertoire by non-Finnish composers, such as symphonies of Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...

 and Carl Nielsen
Carl Nielsen
Carl August Nielsen , , widely recognised as Denmark's greatest composer, was also a conductor and a violinist. Brought up by poor but musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age...

, and music of Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...

.

Chief Conductors

  • Toivo Haapanen (1929-1950)
  • Nils-Eric Fougstedt
    Nils-Eric Fougstedt
    Nils-Eric Fougstedt was a Finnish conductor and composer. He attended the Helsinki Conservatory and counted Erik Furuhjelm among his teachers....

     (1950–1961)
  • Paavo Berglund
    Paavo Berglund
    Paavo Allan Engelbert Berglund is a Finnish conductor.Born in Helsinki, Berglund studied the violin as a child, and played an instrument made by his grandfather. By age 15, he had decided on music as his career, and by 18 was playing in restaurants...

     (1962–1971)
  • Okko Kamu
    Okko Kamu
    Okko Kamu is a Finnish orchestral conductor.Kamu was born into a family of musicians. His father played double bass in the Helsinki Philharmonic. He began violin studies at age two and entered the Sibelius Academy at age six. He formed his own string quartet, the Suhonen, in 1964 where he played...

     (1971–1977)
  • Leif Segerstam
    Leif Segerstam
    Leif Segerstam is a Finnish conductor and composer.He studied violin, piano and conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and conducting at the Juilliard School in New York with Jean Morel....

     (1977–1987)
  • Jukka-Pekka Saraste
    Jukka-Pekka Saraste
    Jukka-Pekka Saraste is a Finnish conductor and violinist.Saraste was trained as a violinist. He later studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula, in the same class as Esa-Pekka Salonen and Osmo Vänskä...

     (1987–2001)
  • Sakari Oramo
    Sakari Oramo
    Sakari Markus Oramo OBE is a Finnish conductor.Oramo started his career as a violinist and concertmaster of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 1989, he enrolled in Jorma Panula's conducting class at the Sibelius Academy...

    (2003–present)

External links

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