The Lahti Symphony Orchestra turns a new page in its history under the leadership of its artistic partner, conductor Hannu Linnu

Conductor Hannu Lintu will take up the position of artistic partner of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of the Sibelius Festival in the autumn, succeeding Dalia Stasevska, who concludes her four-year term with the orchestra in the spring. I have been working with this wonderful orchestra for more than two decades and every concert we have given together has helped to convince me that music is made in Lahti with ambition and skill’, says Lintu. Although his official title is ‘artistic partner’, his role as the architect of the orchestra’s artistic approach is just as important as that of his predecessors as principal conductor. Hannu Lintu is known as a skilled programme planner who is not afraid to make changes; his impact on the season’s repertoire is clear, bold and ambitious.

Composer-in-residence

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra has invited Lahti-born Sauli Zinovjev (b. 1988) to be its composer-in-residence. ‘This music has its origins in the same streets and concerts where I grew up listening, dreaming and gradually searching for my own voice’, says Sauli Zinovjev, whose season as composer-in-residence will start with a premiere at the opening concert under the baton of Hannu Linnu. The new work, Fade out, has been commissioned by the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. Zinovjev calls his work a ‘rollercoaster ride’, going at full tilt. In January there will be the Finnish premiere of A Savage Beat, and in March, Hannu Lintu will conduct Wiegenlied.

A complete recording of the Rautavaara symphonies

Another important composer this season is Einojuhani Rautavaara, whose First and Sixth Symphonies will be performed in concerts conducted by Hannu Linnu. In the coming years, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra will record all eight of Rautavaara’s symphonies under Lintu’s baton. This will be the fourth complete cycle of symphonies by a Finnish composer in the orchestra’s recording history.

The Sibelius Festival is changing

Hannu Lintu has planned the next three Sibelius Festivals as a single package. Under his direction, the Sibelius Festival concerts will now for the first time include works by other composers as well as Sibelius. But Sibelius remains at the heart of the programme. ‘I have deemed it a special honour to plan the Sibelius Festival and have wanted to keep the focus of the programme on the output of this great composer’, says Lintu. The Lahti Symphony Orchestra will play all the orchestral concerts at the festival from 2025 until 2027 under Lintu’s direction.

For the first time in Lahti

In the coming season, several exciting new artists have been invited by Hannu Lintu to appear at the Sibelius Hall. Conductor Christian Schumann’s concert in November will feature Johannes Brahms’s Piano Quartet in its orchestral arrangement by Arnold Schoenberg, which one could even consider to be Brahms’s Fifth Symphony. Violinist Akiko Suwanai, a regular guest with the world’s top orchestras, will perform Sergei Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto.

In January, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra will welcome the renowned British conductor Andrew Manze, an expert on the music of Jean Sibelius. The same concert will feature competition winners – violinist Christel Lee and pianist Denis Kozukhin – as well as cellist Jonathan Roozeman, the Lahti Symphony Orchestra’s artist-in-residence in the 2016–17 season. Ukrainian conductor Kirill Karabits will offer a taste of Eastern European music in May. Other top young musicians include violinist Daniel Lozakovich, cellist Jakob Koranyi and pianists Alexander Melnikov and Elisabeth Brauss.

Eagerly anticipated return visits

In September a giant of contemporary music, John Adams, will make a return visit with his own work Frenzy, which will be its first performance in the Nordic countries. Also making a return visit is Masaaki Suzuki, a deeply insightful interpreter of classical and baroque music. It has been a long time since conductor John Storgårds last visited Lahti. Our patience will be rewarded in October when he will appear with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra as conductor and violin soloist. Also making a welcome return are conductors Tabita Berglund and Tianyi Lu, and the highly acclaimed pianist brothers Lucas and Arthur Jussen.

Conductor Tomas Djupsjöbacka is also a favourite with Lahti audiences, and in his concert, percussionist Vivi Vassileva will be the soloist. In Sauli Zinovjev’s A Savage Beat, the soloist navigates between percussion instruments – largely made of recycled materials – positioned all over the concert platform.

In April, violinist Elina Vähälä will appear at the Sibelius Hall; her interpretation of Max Bruch’s First Violin Concerto will be the realisation of many wishes. This concert will be conducted by Matthew Halls, principal conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, who is performing in Lahti for the first time

Favourites

Audiences will be treated to a number of favourite works during the season. The subscription concerts begin with Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Sergei Prokofiev’s orchestral suite from the ballet Romeo and Juliet, Johann Sebastian Bach’s Easter classic the St John Passion and Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s orchestral suite from the ballet Swan Lake are on many listeners’ wish lists. Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons will receive an incomparable interpretation from conductor-violinist Jan Söderblom. At the end of the season listeners can bathe in the sound of the Vivo Youth Orchestra and Lahti Symphony Orchestra, who join forces for Gustav Holst’s The Planets. This concert will be conducted by Erkki Lasonpalo, artistic director of Vivo.

The anniversary concerts continue  

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra’s 75th anniversary is also seen and heard during the autumn season, especially on Independence Day, when the city of Lahti celebrates its 120th anniversary. The concert will be conducted by Janne Nisonen and the Sibelius Violin Concerto will be performed by one of the finalists from the 2025 Jean Sibelius Violin Competition. The celebrations will continue in early spring with the 80th birthday concert of Okko Kamu, who for many years was principal conductor of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra

Lahti Symphony Orchestra players in the spotlight

The Lahti Symphony Orchestra’s appreciation of its own musicians is also a cause for celebration. The soloists this season will once again include outstanding musicians from the orchestra’s own ranks: clarinettist Nora Niskanen in September, violinist Aleksi Trygg and violist Kei Ito in October and trumpeter Bogdan Dekhtiaruk in May. The spotlight will also fall on the skills of the orchestra’s musicians in a new feature this season: the free After Work chamber music concerts in the courtyard of Lahti Town Hall. The players themselves are also responsible for the programming of these chamber concerts.

Concerts for all the family

Throughout the Lahti Symphony Orchestra’s history, children and families have played an important role in its concert season. In November, Tuomo Rannankari’s children’s songs will ring out in the concert hall. In December, the orchestra returns to the atmosphere of its 1998 album Joulun ihmemaa (Christmas Wonderland) with the Laulupuu choir and conductor Ruut Kiiski. The year concludes with the film concert The Snowman, which has become a Christmas tradition. In April, the irresistible combination of nature and music will be brought to life in the Tunturin tarina (Tale of the Sleeping Giants) film concert.

Pop and red noses

The vocal ensemble Rajaton and Lahti Symphony Orchestra continue their collaboration with two splendid concerts: ABBA classics and a new production of Bee Gees superhits. The arrangements are impressive, and you can dance along! A favourite with Finnish audiences, singer-songwriter Arppa and his group will make their debut as soloists with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra in March. Arrangements of original music from all four of his albums have been made by the concert’s conductor, Mikko Pellinen.

May Day will be celebrated in full next spring under the direction of Ako Kiiski. On May Day Eve, Finnish pop hits will be performed by soloists who can really charm the audience, Jepa Lambert and Lauri Mikkola. The May Day matinee will have your noses red with laughter as the iconic clown group Red Nose Company takes over the May Day festivities. Ako Kiiski will also host a concert of Finnish film music in November, with Oona Airola and Lahti’s own Mikael Saari as soloists. The New Year will be ushered in with a New Year’s Eve concert, something that has already become a tradition.

Tickets on sale from May 14, 2025 at 10:00 am via Lippu.fi sales channels.