Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo is one of the most acclaimed musical directors on the current international scene. He is particularly well-known in the UK for his time with the CBSO and, more recently, appearances at the Proms with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He will be taking over as the BBC SO’s chief conductor in 2013. Sakari Oramo is already renowned for his performances of the symphonies of Anton Bruckner, but has not recorded any until now. This hybrid SACD of the composer’s so-called “Wagner Symphony”, No. 3 in D Minor, in which he directs the Stockholm Philharmonic, the orchestra of which he is currently Chief Conductor, will surely enhance that reputation.
As well as being chief conductor and artistic adviser of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo is also chief conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and co-founder and principal conductor of West Coast Kokkola Opera. From 1998-2008 he was Music Director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He made his debut with the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 2011, and has recently been appointed its chief conductor designate from the beginning at the 2013 BBC Proms season.
Since taking over the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic in 2008, Oramo has led the orchestra in many highlights, including a Stockholm Mahler festival featuring all ten Mahler symphonies on consecutive days, and critically acclaimed recordings of the music of Mahler and Schumann, among others. Oramo has frequently been guest conductor in recent years with the Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and San Francisco Symphony, and collaborates regularly with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. In 2013, Oramo is due to make his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic. A prolific recording artist, he has a number of recordings to his credit on labels such as Warner Classics, Ondine, and Hyperion, and most recently has recorded all of Schumann's symphonies with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic for Sony Classics.
Future recordings include a set of Elgar's Symphonies.
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Christmas 2012
*****
“Oramo demonstrates very impressive credentials as a Bruckner conductor...sustaining an urgent but steady pulse throughout the [Finale]...Oramo's impeccable structural control also pays huge dividends in the first movement...The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic responds to Oramo's demands with playing of great expressive power”
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