Biography
John Storgårds
Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic and Turku Philharmonic Orchestras, as well as Principal Guest Conductor of Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, John Storgårds has a dual career as a conductor and violin virtuoso and is widely recognized for his creative flair for programming as well as his rousing yet refined performances. As Artistic Director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, a title he has held for over 25 years, Storgårds earned global critical acclaim for the ensemble’s adventurous performances and award-winning recordings.
Highlights of Storgårds’ 24/25 season include two appearances at the BBC Proms with the BBC Philharmonic, with programs including the UK premiere of Hans Abrahamsen’s Horn Concerto and the fourth symphonies of Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich. Further season highlights include return engagements with the Bamberg Symphony and the Tampere Philharmonic, and in North America with the Cincinnati, St. Louis and Dallas symphonies and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal. In May 2025, Storgards serves as the Jury Chair of the XIII International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki.
Storgårds appears with such orchestras as Berlin Philharmonic, Bamberg Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Munich Philharmonic, Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, ORF Radio-Symphony Orchestra , Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National de France, BBC Symphony Orchestra and London Philharmonic Orchestra as well as all major Nordic orchestras including the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, where he was Chief Conductor from 2008 to 2015. He also regularly returns to the Munich Chamber Orchestra, where he was Artistic Partner from 2016 to 2019. Further afield, he appears with Sydney, Melbourne, Yomiuri Nippon and NHK Symphony Orchestras as well as Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Soloists with whom he collaborates include Yefim Bronfman, Sol Gabetta, Kirill Gerstein, Håkan Hardenberger, Kari Kriikku, Gil Shaham, Baiba Skride, Leila Josefowicz, Christian Tetzlaff, Jean-Yves Thibaudet, Frank Peter Zimmermann and Anne Sofie von Otter, as well as Barbara Hannigan when they both conduct and perform as soloist.. As a violinist, Storgårds regularly performs as a chamber musician and in recital, with appearances at festival worldwide including the Kuhmo Chamber Festival in Finland and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival in the US.
Storgårds’ vast repertoire includes all symphonies by Sibelius, Nielsen, Bruckner, Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert and Schumann, including the Finnish premieres of Schumann’s only opera ‘Genoveva’ and the early ‘Zwickau’ symphony, plus world premieres of Sibelius’ Suite op. 117 for violin and strings and the Late Fragments. As soloist, he gave the Finnish premiere of Schumann’s own violin transcription of the cello concerto, as well as the Violin Sonata No 3. Embracing contemporary repertoire in his programmes, Storgårds regularly performs world premieres with many works being dedicated to him, including Per Nørgård’s Symphony No. 8 as well as Kaija Saariaho’s Nocturne for solo violin. In opera he conducted the world premiere production of Sebastian Fagerlund’s ‘Höstsonaten – Autumn Sonata’ at the Finnish National Opera. The title was a finalist at the 2018 International Opera Awards and was revived in autumn 2019. In the 2022/23 season, Storgårds led the world premiere production of Tapio Tuomela’s new opera ‘The Fur Hat Opera’, performing in Rovaniemi and at the Finnish National Opera with his Lapland Chamber Orchestra. Later in the season, Storgårds returned to the Finnish National Opera with Shostakovich’s ‘Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk’.
Storgards’ award-winning discography features works by Schumann, Mozart, Beethoven and Haydn, and also rarities by Holmboe and Vasks featuring him as soloist. With the BBC Philharmonic, two cycles of symphonies by Sibelius (2014) and Nielsen (2015) were released to critical acclaim by Chandos. November 2019 was the release of the third and final volume of works by American avant-garde composer George Antheil. The latest BBC Philharmonic projects, the symphonies of Shostakovich, commenced in April 2020 with the release of Symphony No. 11. For BIS Records, Mr. Storgårds and the Lapland Chamber Orchestra have released numerous critically acclaimed recordings, including Mahler’s 10th symphony in a special arrangement by Michelel Castelletti, works by Finnish composer Outi Tarkiainen, and Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen’s “Schnee.” Other recordings include discs of works by Norgard, Korngold, Aho and Rautavaara, the latter receiving a Grammy nomination and a Gramophone Award in 2012. In 2023, Storgårds and the BBC Philharmonic were nominated for Gramophone magazine’s “Orchestra of the Year Award.”
Storgårds studied violin with Chaim Taub and subsequently became concertmaster of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen, before studying conducting with Jorma Panula and Eri Klas. He received the Finnish State Prize for Music in 2002 and the Pro Finlandia Prize 2012.
Photographs
Marco Borggreve
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