Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski has launched his inaugural season as music director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra following a widely praised debut performance in Guangzhou.
The 26-year-old conductor from Vaasa, Finland, received multiple standing ovations after leading the orchestra in Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No 11 at Xinghai Concert Hall on 26 April. Videos and photos from the performance later spread across Chinese social media.
Peltokoski officially introduced his first season with the Hong Kong Philharmonic during a launch event at The Peninsula Hong Kong. The season will feature works by composers including Wagner, Mahler, Bruckner and Strauss.
The Finnish conductor began studying under renowned Finnish pedagogue Jorma Panula at the age of 14. He has previously served as music director of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra.
Peltokoski, whose mother is Filipino and father Finnish, also became the first principal guest conductor in the history of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen at just 21 years old.
As part of the new season, the Hong Kong Philharmonic plans tours across Europe and mainland China. The orchestra is scheduled to perform in cities including Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna and Helsinki, while also preparing concerts in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou during 2027.
Finnish composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen attended the Guangzhou concert and praised Peltokoski’s musical maturity, calling him “a very interesting, thoughtful musician”.
