Pekka Kuusisto

Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto is Artistic Director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Co-Director of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra from the 23/24 season. He is also Artistic Partner with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, a Collaborative Partner of the San Francisco Symphony, and Artistic Best Friend of Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

An advocate of contemporary music, he recently performed the world premiere of Bryce Dessner’s Violin Concerto with HR Sinfonieorchester, and later with the Philharmonia, and San Francisco Symphony orchestras, and Orchestre de Paris. He performed the world premiere of Thomas Adès’ Märchentänze for violin and orchestra with the Finnish Radio Symphony orchestra and later with Barcelona Symphony, Gothenburg Symphony and Danish Radio Symphony orchestras. In recent seasons Kuusisto premiered new works by Sauli Zinovjev, Daníel Bjarnason, Anders Hillborg, Philip Venables and Andrea Tarrodi.

As a soloist, Kuusisto debuts with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and will return to orchestras such as Cleveland, Cincinnati Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Philharmonia, City of Birmingham Symphony, Guerzenich, Mahler Chamber, and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony. He is also Sinfonieorchester Basel’s Artist in Residence.

As a conductor, recent highlights include the Helsinki Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony and Philharmonia orchestras, the Concertgebouworkest, and Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

His recordings include Nico Muhly’s violin concerto Shrink, Ades’ Violin Concerto, Hillborg’s Bach Materia and Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 3 and 4.

Pekka Kuusisto plays the Antonio Stradivari Golden Period c.1709 ‘Scotta’ violin, generously loaned by a patron through Tarisio.

As of August 2022