Artists biographies
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra

FRSO, the orchestra of the Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE), celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2007. Its Chief Conductor is Sakari Oramo, who assumed the post in 2003 after nine years as its conductor.

The Radio Orchestra of ten players founded in 1927 grew to a full-size symphony orchestra in the 1960s. Its chief conductors have been Toivo Haapanen, Nils-Eric Fougstedt, Paavo Berglund, Okko Kamu, Leif Segerstam and Jukka-Pekka Saraste.

Contemporary music is a major item in the repertoire of the FRSO, which each year premieres a number of YLE commissions. All in all the FRSO has so far premiered more than 550 works of contemporary Finnish music.

The FRSO recordings now number over 100, on the Ondine, Warner, DG and other labels. One historic gem is the Andante festivo conducted by the composer, Jean Sibelius, at the Helsinki Conservatory (now the Sibelius Academy) Hall as a radio greeting to the Americans on New Year’s Day 1939. Th is recording is the only known document of Sibelius in the role of conductor.

With Oramo the FRSO has recorded music by Bartók, Saariaho, Hakola, Lindberg, Kaipainen, Kokkonen and others. Its discs have won many prestigious distinctions.

The FRSO has been on major tours all over the world and given more than 300 concerts abroad, regurarly Finnish music in the repertoire. It has visited Japan four times.

All the FRSO concerts can be heard on the FRSO’s home channel, YLE Radio 1. Th ey are usually broadcasted live and can also be heard worldwide via the Internet (www.yle.fi /rso).