Sakari Oramo

Sakari Oramo, chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra since 2012, made his first guest appearance with the Gürzenich Orchestra in March, 2023. The 59-year-old conductor from Finnland, who has worked with the world’s most famous orchestras, was instantly impressed. »Our connection was intense from the very beginning, and I was fascinated by the orchestra’s dedication and energy in playing. The musicians are very flexible, and you can tell that they are also a fantastic opera orchestra.« The Cologne public can look forward to enjoying more of this productive cooperation: Beginning in the 2025/26 season, the Gürzenich Orchestra and Sakari Oramo will embark upon an artistic partnership that is planned to continue for at least five years. It entails a minimum of two subscription concerts per season, in which Oramo will not only draw from the classics among the Gürzenich Orchestra’s abundant repertoire: »I would like to bring some contemporary works from Skandinavia into our partnership, add my own colour, and introduce new repertoire that is not usually the focus of attention.« During the current season, he is scheduled to conduct no less than three concert programmes in the Cologne Philharmonic, a hall that he has deemed »one of Europe’s best concert halls.« The programmes include works by Anders Hillborg, Jean Sibelius and Kaija Saariaho, but also Dvořák, Berlioz, Ravel, Schumann, and Mahler. In 2025, he will join the Gürzenich Orchestra on a tour to Japan where they will play seven concerts.