The Hong Kong Philharmonic has named its new music director: 24-year-old Tarmo Peltokoski.
He will serve as music director designate in the 2025-2026 season, and will formally begin his five-year term in 2026. Peltokoski succeeds Jaap van Zweden, whose twelve-year stint is one of the longest in the HK Philharmonic's history, in contrast with the record-breaking brevity of his six-season directorship of the New York Philharmonic. Upon his departure, Zweden will become the HK Philharmonic's second conductor Laureate.
Peltokoski is one of a wave of young conductors taking leadership roles--his fellow Finn, 28-year-old Klaus Mäkelä, will become music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 2025. In fact, not only will Peltokoski become the orchestra's youngest music director, but he will also become its youngest member. He does not consider that a hindrance, however: "Experience happens slowly but it also depends on how much you do something. And conducting is something I have been doing for a long time."
Bass-baritone Isaac Droscha, senior lecturer in humanities at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, believes it's an advantage: "He is young and my perspective is that here's somebody who doesn't carry with him the negative potential baggage that tends to come with a long career in a difficult business. This is someone in the springtime of his career, and he will bring that energy to what is by many accounts Asia's premier orchestra."
Currently the music director of the Latvian National Symphony, Peltokoski will also lead France's Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse come 2025.
He initially trained as a pianist before focusing on conducting, studying under Jorma Panula. Known for his love of Wagner, which is already deeply embedded in the HK Philharmonic's repertoire, he intends to continue the ensemble's tradition of performing The Ring Cycle, while expanding its range.
Peltokoski debuted with the orchestra last year, and was immediately smitten by "the precision of [their] music-making." He reunites with the HK Philharmonic on July 5 and 6 to conduct Mahler's Symphony No. 5 and Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 2, and then again in September to lead the opening concert of the 2024-2025 season.
