“Look out – here comes a genius! … Peltokoski not only has phenomenal technique, but an energy, a musical instinct, a stylistic and expressive clarity as well as fiery dynamics, all of which leave one speechless” (Rémy Louis in Diapason)
At the age of just 23, Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski can already claim the unprecedented achievement of securing appointments with four different orchestras, in four different countries, in the space of a single year. His prodigious talent on the podium has enabled him to shoot to worldwide fame since his breakthrough season in 2020–21.
In January 2022, he was appointed Principal Guest Conductor of The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the first since its foundation in 1980. In the following months he was also named Music and Artistic Director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and, before the year was out, Music Director of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse.
Winner of the 2023 OPUS KLASSIK Young Talent of the Year award, Peltokoski has been hailed as “a talent of a century” and “the Finnish wonder-conductor” by Tagesspiegel. He regularly dazzles audiences around the globe with the depth and intensity of his music-making both in opera and in the symphonic repertoire. Reviewing a performance in Rotterdam, NRC commented: “Disconcerting, breathtaking, tearjerkingly beautiful. Even writing about it brings back goosebumps. How he did it is a mystery but the most beautiful concert of the year was played in Rotterdam. Tarmo Peltokoski. Write that name down.”
Orchestral musicians, meanwhile, speak with warmth of his artistry, his in-depth knowledge of the repertoire and a gift for communication that stems from his sense of humour and desire to work collaboratively with his players. “Rehearsals are a conversation,” says Peltokoski himself. “There’s a constant discussion going on.”
The Finnish conductor and pianist’s world-class status was reinforced in October 2023 when he signed an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. His DG debut album, scheduled for release in May 2024, comprises Mozart’s Symphonies Nos. 35 “Haffner”, 36 “Linz” and 40, recorded with The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. It also features three of his own hugely imaginative solo piano improvisations, one on each symphony, all with the touches of humour so central to his artistic personality.
Tarmo Peltokoski’s recent debut performances include concerts with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Oslo Philharmonic, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Hallé, DSO Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, hr-Sinfonieorchester and NSO Washington. He made his North American debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in early 2023 and returned to the US to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl in August 2023. His December 2023 appearance at the helm of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse was streamed on DG’s STAGE+ on 6 January 2024.
A passionate Wagnerian, Peltokoski completed his first cycle of Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Eurajoki Bel Canto Festival in August 2022 and returned to Eurajoki the following spring to conduct Tristan und Isolde. He also took the podium for a performance of Siegfried in July 2023 with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. The start of the 2023–24 season saw him conduct a concert performance of Act One of Die Walküre in Riga (as well as Mozart’s Don Giovanni for Finnish National Opera in Helsinki).
Forthcoming highlights include his first appearance with the SWR Symphonieorchester at the Whitsun Festival in Baden-Baden and performances with The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen in Bremen, Essen and Vienna – where he will make his debut in the Musikverein’s Golden Hall – and with the RSB Berlin at the Konzerthaus Berlin. His future opera engagements include Götterdämmerung in Riga in July 2024.
Born in 2000, Tarmo Peltokoski chose to take piano lessons at the age of eight. While his technical fluency on the instrument and innate musicianship suggested he was on course to become a pianist, the eleven-year-old Tarmo was inspired to take up conducting by the life-changing experience of discovering Daniel Barenboim’s recording of Wagner’s Ring. He received his first lessons in the conductor’s art when he was fourteen from the legendary Finnish teacher Jorma Panula, enrolled four years later at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki to continue his studies in conducting and piano and joined Sakari Oramo’s conducting class soon after. Peltokoski’s mentors also include Hannu Lintu, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Esa-Pekka Salonen, whose professional guidance has complemented his own deep study of the operatic and symphonic repertoire.
As a pianist Tarmo Peltokoski has performed as concerto soloist and intends to continue making chamber music and coaching singers when time allows. His improvisations at the keyboard and experience as a composer and arranger bear witness to his formation as an all-round artist. “What I’m doing now started with me going insane when I heard Wagner at the age of eleven,” he recalls. “That’s where my interest in conducting began. Everything has grown from there.”
4/2024