The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra (Finnish: ''Radion sinfoniaorkesteri'', Swedish: ''Radions symfoniorkester'') is a Finnish
broadcast orchestra based in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, 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.
History
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 or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, 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. In April 2016, the FRSO announced the extension of Lintu's contract as chief conductor through 2021. 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.
In 2017,
Nicholas Collon
Nicholas Collon (born 7 February 1983 in London) is a British conductor.
Biography
A viola player, organist and pianist by training, Collon played viola in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (NYOGB). He studied at Eton and was an or ...
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.
The orchestra's discography includes, besides 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 ...
, music by other Finnish composers such as
Paavo Heininen,
Joonas Kokkonen,
Magnus Lindberg
Magnus Gustaf Adolf Lindberg (born 27 June 1958) is a Finnish composer and pianist. He was the New York Philharmonic's composer-in-residence from 2009 to 2012 and has been the London Philharmonic Orchestra's composer-in-residence since the ...
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
Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hu ...
.
Chief conductors
*
Toivo Haapanen (1929–1950)
*
Nils-Eric Fougstedt (1950–1961)
*
Paavo Berglund (1962–1971)
*
Okko Kamu (1971–1977)
*
Leif Segerstam (1977–1987)
*
Jukka-Pekka Saraste (1987–2001)
*
Sakari Oramo (2003–2012)
*
Hannu Lintu (2013–2021)
*
Nicholas Collon
Nicholas Collon (born 7 February 1983 in London) is a British conductor.
Biography
A viola player, organist and pianist by training, Collon played viola in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain (NYOGB). He studied at Eton and was an or ...
(2021–present)
See also
*
Radio orchestra
References
External links
Official Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra official English-language homepageAntero Karttunen, "The Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra 1927–2002" (translated by John Pickering), from FRSO web page
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1927
Finnish orchestras
Radio and television orchestras
1927 establishments in Finland