Germany’s Gürzenich Orchestra Announces New Artistic Partner

Conductor Sakari Oramo will step into the newly created role as of September 2025 

The Cologne-based Gürzenich Orchestra has announced the appointment of the Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo to its new position of Artistic Partner. 

In the role, Oramo will present at least two subscription projects each year for an initial five years from the 2025/26 season. 

Having made his debut with the Gürzenich Orchestra in March 2023, Oramo will now lead the ensemble on its tour to Japan in February 2025, including performances at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and Opera City.

His new position will also involve introducing new repertoire to the ensemble’s programming and complementing the work of Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the incoming Music Director. 

As part of his new programming, he will be introducing the German premieres of works by composers from Nordic countries and abroad. Alongside the orchestra, he will also continue their capacity for opera performances.

Oramo is currently Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, conductor Laureate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, and Honorary Conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. 

Additionally, he is a regular guest with many world-leading orchestras — throughout the 2024/25 season, he will return to work with the Berlin Philharmonic, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, and Orchestre national de France. Oramo also served as concertmaster of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra before taking up conducting in 1993. 

Before officially beginning his new role, Oramo will conduct the Gürzenich Orchestra in three projects at the Cologne Philharmonie, including works by Sibelius, Kaija Saariaho, Schumann, Mahler, Anders Hillborg, and Berlioz. 

“I look forward to working with this marvelous group of musicians,” Oramo said in the press release. “We had such a strong connection when we first met last year. I was particularly moved by the intense commitment and energy of their playing … The orchestra has a great tradition that stretches back to the time of Brahms, Mahler and Richard Strauss, as well as an illustrious record in championing new music,” he added. “I am truly delighted to join the Gürzenich Orchestra at such an exciting time in its long and distinguished history.”

“I am delighted that in Sakari Oramo we have gained an outstanding artist who will further inspire the Gürzenich Orchestra,” Orozco-Estrada said. “This long-term collaboration, comprising at least two projects every season, will broaden the musical and programming base of the orchestra and be a wonderful addition to my work in Cologne.”

“Sakari is one of the finest and most respected conductors of our time,” commented the orchestra’s Executive Director Stefan Englert. “He’s an amazing musician and an exceptional programmer. The breadth of his repertoire complements that of the orchestra. The Gürzenich Orchestra loves playing and taking risks in the moment of performance. We felt when Sakari came to us for the first time that he shared those values. There was an immediate connection between the orchestra and him.”

“We have been hoping to work closely with Sakari Oramo for a long time,” noted the orchestra’s representative board. “We look forward to the opportunity to do this regularly in the future. It happens so rarely that the chemistry between orchestra and conductor is immediately synchronous, and with Sakari Oramo we experienced this from the first moment. We are looking forward to presenting extraordinary concerts together with him and our orchestra, as well as creating unique musical experiences for our audiences.”

Founded in 1827, the Gürzenich Orchestra has served as the orchestra of the City of Cologne since 1888. In the early years, the orchestra gave the world premiere performances of Brahms’s Double Concerto, Mahler’s Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5, and Strauss’s Don Quixote and Till Eulenspiegel, among other landmark works. 

The ensemble has been based at the Cologne Philharmonie since 1986 and presents around 50 concerts there each season. Its partnership with the Cologne Opera also involves almost 200 opera performances annually given by the Gürzenich Orchestra.