Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra’s New Principal Guest Conductor 

Violinist and conductor Pekka Kuusisto will assume the role as of the 2025/26 season for an initial three years

The Finnish violinist and conductor Pekka Kuusisto will share the Principal Guest Conductor role at the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra with Barbara Hannigan, who has held the role since 2019 and will continue until 2028. 

To begin his tenure from the 2025/26 season, Kuusisto often works with folk musicians, electro pioneers, and top symphony orchestras worldwide. His other roles include Artistic Director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic co-director of the Helsinki Philharmonic, and Artistic Best Friend of Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

Kuusisto made his conducting debut with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in 2023 alongside solo violinist Ava Bahari. He will return to Gothenburg this November to perform as the soloist in Bryce Dessner’s Violin Concerto. The following week, he will lead the orchestra in five works by the Swedish composer Anders Hillborg.

“With Pekka Kuusisto the audience in the Gothenburg Concert Hall will get to know a warm, charismatic, and border-crossing musician,” said Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra’s CEO, Anna-Karin Larsson in the press release. “Kuusisto together with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra will be able to offer the Gothenburg audience a series of unique and exciting musical experiences for several years to come. We are very happy about that.”

“I have such brilliant experiences from both playing, conducting, and listening to the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, where the musicians bring their entire radiant personalities to the rehearsals and concerts,” Kuusisto added. “They make a luxurious sound in their wonderful home and they have heightened communication and presence of large-scale chamber music.

“To conduct an ensemble of the Gothenburg Symphony’s caliber is an opportunity to learn,” he continued. “The total amount of musical knowledge and interpretational instinct of the orchestra is staggering, as is the amount of instrumental skill. The Gothenburg Symphony will make me a better musician, and I will begin the exciting search for ways to return the favor.”

Additionally, Gothenburg's Chief Conductor  Santtu-Matias Rouvali will be leaving his position in June 2025. The symphony will continue the search for a new Chief Conductor after Rouvali’s tenure ends.