John Storgards
Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, John Storgårds is also Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra. He has a dual career as a conductor and violin virtuoso and is widely recognised for his creative flair for programming traditional, rare and contemporary music in his performances. As a guest conductor he appears with orchestras such as the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and major American orchestras in Cincinnati, St. Louis, Washington DC, Boston, and Cleveland.
He has won particular acclaim for his interpretations of works by Sibelius and Nielsen, and his repertoire also includes all the symphonies by Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Mozart, Schubert, and Schumann. His commitment to discovering new or unknown repertoire has resulted in many world premiere performances of music by Brett Dean, Kaija Saariaho, Per Nørgård, Korngold, and even Sibelius, amongst many others. He is an active chamber musician at festivals, not least at the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra’s annual Summer Sounds, and appears frequently as a solo violinist with international orchestras. His vast discography showcases his repertoire interests with numerous award-winning recordings, with many different orchestras. His recording of Pēteris Vasks’s Second Symphony and Violin Concerto, featuring him as soloist, received the Cannes Classical Disc of the Year Award in 2004 and his Rautavaara disc with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra won a Gramophone Award in 2012. John Storgårds studied violin, composition, and conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and also violin with Chaim Taub in Israel. He received the Finnish State Prize for Music in 2002.
Latest releases
Recent highlights
KORNGOLD, E.W.: Symphony in F sharp major, Op. 40 / Tanzchen im alten Stil (Helsinki Philharmonic, Storgards)
TIENSUU, J.: Vie / Missa / False memories I-III (Kriikku, Helsinki Philharmonic, Storgards)
SIBELIUS, J.: Violin Concerto / The Bard / The Wood Nymph (F.P. Zimmermann, Helsinki Philharmonic, Storgards)
KIITOSTA SOI LAULUNI (Isokoski, Mattila, Hynninen, Tiilikainen, Ruuttunen, Tapiola Choir)
Violin Concertos (Danish) - GADE, N.W. / LANGE-MULLER, P.E. / LANGGAARD, R. (Astrand, Tampere Philharmonic, Storgards)
HAKOLA, K.: Piano Concerto / Sinfonietta (Sigfridsson, Tampere Philharmonic, Storgards)
HALLGRIMSSON, H.: Cello Concerto / Herma (Mork, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Storgards)
KOPPEL, A.: Concerto for Violin and Accordion / Concerto for Saxophone and Piano (Storgards)
Vocal Recital: Salminen, Matti - MERIKANTO, O. / SIBELIUS, J. / MADETOJA, L. / KILPINEN, Y. / TURUNEN, M. / LUOLAJAN-MIKKOLA, V. / KUULA, T.
RASMUSSEN, S.: String Quartets Nos. 1-2 / Violin Concerto No. 1 / Echoes of the Past / Grave
PANUFNIK, A.: Sinfonia di sfere / Heroic Overture / Sinfonia sacra (Tampere Philharmonic, Storgards)
VASKS, P.: Cello Concerto / Symphony No. 3 (Ylonen)
REHNQVIST: On a Distant Shore / Beginning / Arktis Arktis! / I Himmelen
MOZART, W.A.: Clarinet Concerto in A major / MOLTER, J.C.: Clarinet Concertos Nos. 1, 3 and 4 (Kriikku, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Storgards)
SAARIAHO, K.: Graal Theatre / Solar / Lichtbogen