Performer: Jukka-Pekka Saraste

The Helsinki Philharmonic’s winter visit to Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie offers a vivid portrait of Finnish musical identity at its most compelling.

The Grand Théâtre de Genève is certainly not risk-averse and Hungarian director Kornél Mundruczó controversially translates the action to a penthouse bar in New York.

Jukka-Pekka Saraste’s Pittsburgh program makes a strong impression in coloristic works from the early 20th century, while pianist Tom Borrow has a memorable debut.

The victor at the 2021 Chopin International Piano Competition is predictably brilliant in his Singapore Symphony Orchestra debut.

Jukka-Pekka Saraste conducts the Dallas Symphony in a Sibelius tone poem and a Shostakovich symphony, both works of great tragedy.

Two powerful, virtually contemporaneous statements from Prokofiev and Nielsen: Denis Kozhukhin is a commanding soloist in the concerto and Jukka-Pekka Saraste with the BBC SO convincingly ride the waves of the symphony.

Jorma Panula may not be a household name, but he matters enormously in the career development of many conductors. We speak to several of Panula’s Finnish students in order to learn more.

With guest conductors and soloists from the around the world, and a wide range of programming, Rotterdam Philharmonic’s 2023–24 season is as cosmopolitan as their home city.