Guest Artist Bio

Pietari Inkinen

• Performs in Schumann and Shostakovich:
  Saturday, February 6, 2010
  Sunday, February 7, 2010
  Monday, February 8, 2010
  

Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen was appointed music director of the New Zealand Symphony in 2008. He has won wide praise from audiences and critics both for his performances on tour in New Zealand and for his recordings with the orchestra on Naxos, and in November 2010 he will lead the orchestra on a major tour of European cities with violinist Hilary Hahn.  Last September Inkinen also became principal guest conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra.

At these concerts, Inkinen leads the Oregon Symphony for the second time, following a colorful debut in March 2008 at which he shared the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall stage with another rising star from Finland, violinist Pekka Kuusisto. He has also conducted three productions at the Finnish National Opera.

In the studio, his recordings for Naxos with the New Zealand and Bournemouth symphony orchestras – including Rautavaara’s Manhattan Trilogy and the Brahms Violin Concerto – have been greeted with critical acclaim.His recording with the Bavarian Chamber Philharmonic received outstanding reviews and was voted the BBC Music magazine’s recording of the month.

Inkinen is also an accomplished violinist and has appeared as soloist with many of the leading Finnish orchestras and elsewhere across Europe. He plays a Carlo Bergonzi violin (c.1732) owned by the Gyllenberg Foundation.

More information online: pietariinkinen.com