Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

{{multiple image|align=right|direction=horizontal|perrow=2|total_width=370|image1=Helsinki Orchestral Association 3Oct1882 InauguralConcert UusiSuometar.png|width1=185|height1=250|image2=RKajanus 1880s.jpg|width2=185|height2=250|footer=Robert Kajanus founded the Helsinki Orchestral Association in 1882; its inaugural concert was on 3 October of the same year.}}

In 1882, with the backing of two wealthy businessmen (Waldemar Klärich and Nikolai Sinebrychoff), the Finnish composer and conductor Robert Kajanus founded the Helsinki Orchestral Association (in Finnish: {{lang|fi|Helsingin Orkesteriyhdistys}}; in Swedish: {{lang|sv|Helsingfors Orkesterförening}}),{{efn|When referring to the orchestra's name from 1882 to early 1894, sources will often utilize an alternative translation: the Helsinki Orchestral Society or, similarly, the Helsinki Orchestra Society. However, the website of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra translates its early name as Orchestral Association, which is the term used for this article.}} the first permanent orchestra in the Nordic countries.{{cite book|first=Kimmo|last=Korhonen|author-link=:fi:Kimmo Korhonen|title=Inventing Finnish Music: Contemporary Composers from Medieval to Modern|date=2007|orig-date=2003|location=Jyväskylä, Finland|edition=2nd|translator-first=Jaakko|translator-last=Mäntyjärvi|translator-link=:fi:Jaakko Mäntyjärvi|publisher=Finnish Music Information Center (FIMIC) & Gummerus Kirjapaino Oy|pages=29–30|isbn=978-9-525-07661-5|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/inventingfinnish0000korh}} Kajanus, who took no salary in the first year, conducted the Orchestral Association in its inaugural concert, on 3 October 1882;{{cite web|url=https://helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi/en/timeline/historia/orchestra-formed|title=An orchestra is formed|website=helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi|publisher=HPO|access-date=27 August 2022|ref={{harvid|HPO, Historia 1882}}}} the program included, among other pieces, Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Mendelssohn's concert overture The Hebrides, and Weber's overture Jubel in E major.{{cite news|title=Sinfonia konsertti|trans-title=Symphony concert|newspaper=Uusi Suometar|number=229|date=3 October 1882|page=2|url=https://digi.kansalliskirjasto.fi/sanomalehti/binding/428220?page=4|language=fi|ref={{harvid|Uusi Suometar, No. 229|1882}}}} The orchestra comprised musicians from Imperial Germany and Imperial Russia, and sensing a need to guarantee the Orchestral Association a supply of domestically-trained musicians, Kajanus on 1 October 1885 founded an attendant music school; initially, the music school employed as its instructors the very foreign musicians it sought, in time, to replace with Finns. {{efn|Kajanus's foray into the realm of education created friction with his rival Martin Wegelius, who had founded Helsinki Music Institute (now the Sibelius Academy) in 1882 and was protective of his turf.}}{{cite web|url=https://helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi/en/timeline/historia/kajanuss-practical-orchestra-school|title=Kajanus's practical orchestra school|website=helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi|publisher=HPO|access-date=27 August 2022|ref={{harvid|HPO, Historia 1885}}}} In the summer of 1894, the Orchestral Association—worried that its name implied amateurism—renamed itself the Helsinki Philharmonic Society (in Finnish: {{lang|fi|Helsingin Filharmoninen Seura}}; in Swedish: {{lang|sv|Helsingfors Filharmoniska Sällskap}}); at the same meeting, it changed its rules to allow female students to enroll in the orchestra's music school, although {{em|de facto}} discrimination continued.{{cite web|url=https://helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi/en/timeline/historia/helsinki-orchestra-association-becomes-helsinki-philharmonic-society|title=The Helsinki Orchestra Association becomes the Helsinki Philharmonic Society|website=helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi|publisher=HPO|access-date=27 August 2022|ref={{harvid|HPO, Historia 1894}}}}

In 1912, the Finnish conductor Georg Schnéevoigt—who had served as the principal cellist of the Philharmonic Society from 1895 to 1912 and taught cello at the orchestra school from 1896 to 1902{{cite book|last1=Hillila|first1=Ruth-Esther|last2=Hong|first2=Barbara Blanchard|year=1997| title=Historical Dictionary of Music and Musicians of Finland|location=London|publisher=Greenwood Press|page=367|isbn=0-313-27728-1}}—founded the Helsinki Symphony Orchestra (in Finnish: {{lang|fi|Helsingin sinfoniaorkesteri|italics=no}}; in Swedish: {{lang|sv|Helsingfors symfoniorkester|italics=no}}). A bitter "feud" between the two competing organizations ensued: with 150,000 residents, Helsinki could not sustain rival orchestras, especially with the Swedish-speaking patrons supporting Schnéevoigt and the Finnish-speakers backing Kajanus.{{cite book|last=Tawaststjerna|first=Erik|author-link=Erik W. Tawaststjerna|title=Sibelius: Volume II, 1904–1914|date=2008a|orig-date=1972; trans. 1986|others=(Robert Layton, English translation)|location=London|publisher=Faber and Faber|isbn=978-0-571-24773-8|pages=212–213, 231}} The city recognized the situation was unsustainable, and although each group proposed initially that the other should disband, the two merged and municipalized in 1914 under a new name, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (literally, the Helsinki City Orchestra).{{cite web|url=https://helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi/en/timeline/historia/negotiations-begin-over-changing-name-philharmonic-orchestra-helsinki-city|title=Negotiations begin over changing the name of the Philharmonic Orchestra to the Helsinki City Orchestra|website=helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi|publisher=HPO|access-date=27 August 2022|ref={{harvid|HPO, Historia 1913}}}} In part, the resolution was due to the dawn of the First World War in July 1914: the Helsinki Symphony Orchestra collapsed after the German musicians who formed its backbone were expelled from the country; Kajanus and Schnéevoigt initially co-served as chief conductors of the Philharmonic Orchestra, which then consisted of forty players surviving on starvation wages.{{cite book|last=Tawaststjerna|first=Erik|author-link=Erik W. Tawaststjerna|title=Sibelius: Volume III, 1914–1957|date=2008b|orig-date=1978/1988; trans. 1997|others=(Robert Layton, English translation)|location=London|publisher=Faber and Faber|isbn=978-0-571-24774-5|page=50}}{{efn|In 1912, Kajanus had hired the Finnish composers Leevi Madetoja and Toivo Kuula to serve as assistant conductors; however, the merger of the Helsinki Philharmonic Society with Schnéevoigh's Helsinki Symphony Orchestra rendered Madetoja and Kuula superfluous, and each was let go.}} During this time, the Philharmonic Orchestra struggled to survive: not only did Kajanus and Schnéevoigt quarrel with each other through the press, but also there were not—despite the orchestral school having been open for decades—enough Finnish musicians to supply the orchestra; in response, Kajanus sought to recruit musicians from neutral countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands.{{efn|When the Helsinki Philharmonic Society and the Helsinki Symphony Orchestra merged in 1914, Kajanus's music school closed and its students transferred to the Helsinki Music Institute.}} In 1916, Schnéevoigt left the Philharmonic Orchestra to assume the chief conductorship of the Stockholm Concert Society Orchestra (in Swedish: {{lang|sv|Stockholms Konsertförenings Orkester}}).{{cite web|url=https://helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi/en/timeline/historia/first-world-war-raises-problems|title=The First World War raises problems|website=helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi|publisher=HPO|access-date=27 August 2022|ref={{harvid|HPO, Historia 1914}}}}

Until 1962, it also served as the orchestra for the Finnish National Opera.

Leif Segerstam was chief conductor of the orchestra from 1995 to 2007, and is now its chief conductor emeritus. John Storgårds became principal guest conductor of the orchestra in 2003, and took up the chief conductorship of the orchestra in the autumn of 2008, with an initial contract of 4 years. Following an initial renewal of his contract through 2014.,{{cite news | author=Andrew Mellor | title=BBC Philharmonic appoints John Storgårds principal guest conductor | url=http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/bbc-philharmonic-appoints-john-storg%C3%A5rds-principal-guest-conductor | work=Gramophone | date=4 March 2011 | access-date=5 February 2013}} in October 2013, the orchestra announced a further extension of Storgårds' contract through December 2015, at which time he stood down as chief conductor.{{cite press release | url=http://www.hel.fi/hki/HKO/en/Etusivu | title=John Storgårds will extend his contract as Chief Conductor | publisher=Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | date=October 2013 | access-date=3 November 2013 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131106154341/http://www.hel.fi/hki/HKO/en/Etusivu | archive-date=6 November 2013 }}{{cite news | url=http://www.hs.fi/ihmiset/a1382163930785 | title=John Storgårds on orkesterin luottovahti | work=Helsingin Sanomat | author=Samuli Tiikkaja | date=20 October 2013 | access-date=3 November 2013}} In September 2014, the orchestra announced the appointment of Susanna Mälkki as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season, with an initial contract of 3 years.{{cite press release|url=http://www.hel.fi/hki/hko/en/newsletters/susanna+m_lkki+appointed+chief+conductor+of+the+helsinki+philharmonic+orchestra |title=Susanna Mälkki appointed Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra |publisher=Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra |date=1 September 2014 |access-date=1 September 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904084017/http://www.hel.fi/hki/hko/en/newsletters/susanna%2Bm_lkki%2Bappointed%2Bchief%2Bconductor%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bhelsinki%2Bphilharmonic%2Borchestra |archive-date=4 September 2014 }}{{cite news | url=http://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/Susanna+M%C3%A4lkki+valittiin+Helsingin+kaupunginorkesterin+ylikapellimestariksi++olen+iloinen+ja+ylpe%C3%A4/a1409567459171 | title=Susanna Mälkki valittiin Helsingin kaupunginorkesterin ylikapellimestariksi – "olen iloinen ja ylpeä" | work=Helsingin Sanomat | author=Vesa Sirén | date=1 September 2014 | access-date=2 September 2014}} She is the first female conductor to be named to the post in the orchestra's history.{{cite news | url=http://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/HKO+teki+historiaa/a1409578021995 | title=HKO teki historiaa | work=Helsingin Sanomat | author=Vesa Sirén | date=2 September 2014 | access-date=2 September 2014}} In October 2017, the orchestra announced the extension of Mälkki's contract as chief conductor through 2021.{{cite press release | url=http://helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi/en/news/susanna-malkki-to-continue-as-chief-conductor-of-the-helsinki-philharmonic-orchestra | title=Susanna Mälkki to continue as Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | publisher=Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | date=11 October 2017 | access-date=12 November 2017 | archive-date=13 November 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171113112746/http://helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi/en/news/susanna-malkki-to-continue-as-chief-conductor-of-the-helsinki-philharmonic-orchestra | url-status=dead }} In June 2019, the orchestra announced a further extension of her contract as chief conductor through 2023, with an option for a further 2-year extension past 2023.{{cite press release | url=https://helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi/en/news/susanna-malkki-to-stay-on-as-chief-conductor-of-the-helsinki-philharmonic-orchestra | title=Susanna Mälkki Extends With Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | publisher=Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | date=4 June 2019 | access-date=4 June 2019 | archive-date=24 November 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124203522/https://helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi/en/news/susanna-malkki-to-stay-on-as-chief-conductor-of-the-helsinki-philharmonic-orchestra | url-status=dead }} In December 2021, the orchestra announced that Mälkki is to stand down as its chief conductor at the end of the 2022–2023 season, and subsequently to take the title of chief conductor emeritus with the orchestra.{{cite press release | url=https://helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi/fi/uutiset/susanna-malkki-paattaa-ylikapellimestarikautensa-helsingin-kaupunginorkesterissa-kesalla |title=Susanna Mälkki päättää ylikapellimestarikautensa Helsingin kaupunginorkesterissa kesällä 2023 | publisher=Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | date=10 December 2021 | accessdate=31 December 2021}} In April 2022, the orchestra announced the appointments of Jukka-Pekka Saraste as its next chief conductor, Pekka Kuusisto as its next principal guest conductor, and Anna Clyne as its composer-in-residence, all effective with the 2023–2024 season.{{cite press release | url=https://helsinginkaupunginorkesteri.fi/fi/uutiset/hkolle-taiteellinen-johtotiimi-vuonna-2023 | title=HKO:lle taiteellinen johtotiimi vuonna 2023 | publisher= Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra | date=12 April 2022 | accessdate=18 April 2022}}

The orchestra has recorded commercially for such labels as Ondine{{cite news | author=Andrew Clements | title=Sibelius: Kullervo, Isokoski/ Hakala/ YL Male Voice Choir/ Helsinki Philharmonic Orch/ Segerstam | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/may/23/classicalmusicandopera2 | work=The Guardian | date=22 May 2008 | access-date=2 September 2014}}{{cite news | author=Tim Ashley | title=Zemlinsky: Die Seejungfrau; Sinfonietta CD review – too cool for my taste | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/12/zemlinsky-die-seejungfrau-sinfonietta-cd-review-helsinki-philharmonic | work=The Guardian | date=12 March 2015 | access-date=8 April 2015}} and Finlandia, as well as a smaller number for the EMI, Warner and Deutsche Grammophon labels. In November 2011, the orchestra was the first ensemble to perform reported sketches for the Symphony No. 8 of Jean Sibelius.{{cite news | author=Andrew Mellor | title=Helsinki Philharmonic plays Sibelius' Eighth fragments | url=http://www.gramophone.co.uk/classical-music-news/updated-helsinki-philharmonic-plays-sibelius%E2%80%99-eighth-fragments | work=Gramophone | date=17 November 2011 | access-date=5 February 2013}}{{cite news | url=http://www.hs.fi/ihmiset/a1382163930785 | title=John Storgårds on orkesterin luottovahti | work=Helsingin Sanomat | author=Samuli Tiikkaja | date=20 October 2013 | access-date=3 November 2013}}

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• Robert Kajanus (1882–1932)
• Georg Schnéevoigt (1914–1916; 1932–1940)
• Armas Järnefelt (1942–1943)
• Martti Similä (1945–1951)
• Tauno Hannikainen (1951–1963)
• Jorma Panula (1965–1972)
• Paavo Berglund (1975–1979)
• Ulf Söderblom (1978–1979)
• Okko Kamu (1981–1988)
• Sergiu Comissiona (1990–1993)
• Leif Segerstam (1995–2007)
• John Storgårds (2008–2015)
• Susanna Mälkki (2016–2023)
• Jukka-Pekka Saraste (2023–present)

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Category:1882 establishments in Finland

Category:Musical groups established in 1882

Category:Orchestras in Helsinki