Jukka-Pekka Saraste Extends Contract at the Helsinki Philharmonic

Saraste will remain in the post until Summer 2029 and will conduct eight concerts per season

The Finnish conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste has signed a three-year contract extension with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (HPO) and will continue in the role until the summer of 2029. Saraste, who was first appointed to the post in 2021, will conduct eight concerts with the orchestra each season.

The HPO has also elected to increase the orchestra's level of self-governance by taking a more active role in the artistic planning of each season. As part of this objective, the orchestra will conceive of and perform three un-conducted programs per season, to be known as the Orchestra on its Own concerts.

The entire HPO artistic team is now on the same three-year contract, and Saraste is joined by Principal Guest Conductor Pekka Kuusisto — as well as an annually rotating Composer-in-Residence, who in the current concert season is Samy Moussa.

Saraste has performed with the HPO regularly since his debut there in 1983 and has also worked closely with Kuusisto for several years.

From 2010 to 2019, he served as chief conductor of the WDR Symphony Orchestra and was music director and chief conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra from 2006 to 2013.

His earlier appointments include being principal guest conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, artistic advisor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra, plus principal conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he is now conductor laureate.

"We got off to a good start with the orchestra, and I believe that the significance of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, both in Finland and internationally, will continue to grow in the coming years," Saraste said. "I am happy that we can plan long term for the future and offer new experiences to our audiences."

"It is great that Jukka-Pekka Saraste will continue as Chief Conductor for the HPO, and the fruitful cooperation with the orchestra will become even closer," said Aleksi Malmberg, General Manager of the HPO.

"In 2026–2028, the position of the orchestra’s principal guest artist will be filled by the orchestra itself, in all its polyphony. The concerts planned without a conductor will develop the orchestra’s internal interaction by highlighting the orchestra’s own interpretations of the compositions being performed. This kind of expanded chamber music also opens up a new perspective on the orchestra for the audience."