Okko Kamu
Okko Kamu is a celebrated Finnish conductor known for his masterful interpretations of Scandinavian composers such as Sibelius, Berwald, and Sallinen. His discography contains over 100 recordings, and his style is often described as spontaneous, sensitive, and assured. He was born in Helsinki in 1946, and his father was a respected double bassist of the Helsinki Philharmonic. When he was just two years old, Kamu began receiving violin lessons from Väinö Arjava, who was a friend of his father, and concertmaster of the Helsinki Philharmonic. Four years later, he enrolled at the Sibelius Academy where he studied violin with Onni Suhonen. Around the age of ten, he became a member of the Helsinki Youth Orchestra, and he formed the Suhonen Quartet when he was 18. From 1966 to 1968 he performed as concertmaster with the Finnish National Opera Orchestra, and he also began to conduct. He was appointed the principal guest conductor of the Royal Swedish Opera in 1969, and he also won the Karajan conducting competition in Berlin. This led to appointments with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1971 to 1977, the Oslo Philharmonic from 1975 to 1979, and it was also around this time that he made his first recordings, which included the popular Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3. Kamu is also an authority on the music of Aulis Sallinen, and he conducted premieres of The Red Line, The King Goes Forth to France, and his second and third symphonies. Through the '80s and '90s he conducted the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Netherlands Royal Symphony Orchestra, and several other major ensembles, and he continued recording with a special emphasis on Scandinavian composers such as Berwald, Tor Aulin, and Adolf Lindblad. Kamu led the Lahti Symphony Orchestra from 2011 to 2016, and his two recordings of Berwald’s Symphonies both received the Diapason D’Or award. Following his successful tenure in Lahti, he conducted the Royal Danish Orchestra and Opera Chorus on the live recording Sibelius: The Tempest, released in 2022. Kamu remains active as a recording artist, guest conductor, and a member of the Swedish Royal Music Academy.
© RJ Lambert /TiVo
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Nielsen: Symphony No. 1 - Sibelius: Symphony No. 7
Klassiek - Released by Classico on 1 mrt. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Basic Sibelius
Herbert von Karajan, Okko Kamu
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 jan. 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stenhammar: Pianokonsert Nr. 2 - Aulin: Violinkonsert Nr. 3
Greta Erikson, Christian Bergqvist, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Yevgeny Svetlanov, Okko Kamu
Klassiek - Released by Musica Sveciae on 1 jan. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Svenska klassiska favoriter
Helsingborgs Symfoniorkester, Okko Kamu
Klassiek - Released by Naxos on 1 jan. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sallinen: Sunrise Serenade / Symphony No. 2 / Symphony No. 6
Gert Mortensen, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Okko Kamu
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 jun. 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg: Symphony in C Minor / I Host (In Autumn)
Göteborgs Symfoniker, Okko Kamu
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 1 jan. 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 13, Op. 113, "Babi Yar"
Okko Kamu, City Of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Nikita Storojev, City of Birmingham Symphony Chorus, City of Birmingham Choir, University of Warwick Chorus
Symfonieën - Released by Chandos on 1 aug. 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Melodier ur de mest älskade operetterna
Britt-Marie Aruhn, Erland Hagegård, Symfoniorkestern Norrköping, Okko Kamu, Jorma Panula
Klassiek - Released by Universal Music AB on 1 jan. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss Family Rarities
Elisabeth Berg, Stefan Dahlberg, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Okko Kamu
Klassiek - Released by BIS on 31 dec. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo