Deutsche Grammophon has just released the debut recordings of its youngest conductor, Tarmo Peltokoski. At the head of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the 24-year-old Finn conducts three of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's most important symphonies: the No. 35 (Haffner), the No. 36 (Linz), and the No. 40 (Great G minor symphony). As bonus tracks, the album features Peltokoski performing piano variations based on these works.
Peltokoski became DG's youngest conductor when he signed an exclusive contract with the label in October last year. He said: "It's a great honour to join Deutsche Grammophon, especially as their recordings have been such an important part of my life. I even have the album cover of Karajan's Ring cycle as the background picture on my phone. The DG logo was missing from the image I chose but I photoshopped it in, long before Deutsche Grammophon had heard of me!"
Of his debut DG recording, he says: "It's a luxury to perform Mozart with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and to put these three symphonies on record is a dream come true."
Peltokoski first came in contact with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen during a series of workshop sessions in 2020. Winning over the ensemble members with his "passion, sense of humour and desire to work collaboratively with them," Peltokoski was appointed the group's first ever principal guest conductor in 2022. He is also Music Director of the Orchestre National de la Capitole de Toulouse, Music and Artistic Director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.
Peltokoski came to conducting early: learning the piano at 8, he decided to become a conductor at age 11 after becoming smitten by Wagner's operas, and began studying under the legendary Jorma Panula at 14. He later studied conducting and piano at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. Two years after his conducting debut, Peltokoski has become one of the world's top conductors.
Plans for his second DG album are already well underway. With the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Peltokoski will explore the French connections of thoroughly English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams. The forthcoming album will feature A Sea Symphony and associated French works.
