Sakari Oramo
Sakari Oramo is among the best known and most heavily recorded Finnish conductors on the international scene. He has received high praise for his interpretations of Finnish music, including the music of Sibelius, Kaija Saariaho, and Magnus Lindberg, and has championed the music of British composers such as John Foulds. Oramo is the conductor laureate of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and chief conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Oramo was born in Helsinki on October 26, 1965. He trained as a violinist and, from his teens, played with the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra for seven years. He also performed as a member of the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, eventually becoming the concertmaster. From 1989 to 1992, he studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy with Jorma Panula. He made his conducting debut with the Finnish Radio Symphony in a performance of the Brahms First Symphony in 1993 and enjoyed such success that he was appointed the orchestra's associate principal conductor that same year. Among his earliest recordings with the orchestra was a 1995 Ondine album of works by Uuno Klami.
In 1998, Oramo became the principal conductor and artistic director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and assumed the post of music director the following year; he held these positions until 2008. With the City of Birmingham Symphony, he was a prominent leader of the Elgar 150th birthday celebrations in 2007 and received an Elgar Medal for his advancement of the composer's music in 2008. During his tenure with the City of Birmingham Symphony, Oramo championed the music of little-known English composer John Foulds and conducted works by a wide array of British composers, including Britten, Vaughan Williams, and Walton. In 2003, he was elevated to principal conductor of the Finnish Radio Symphony, where he remained until 2012. Oramo co-founded the Kokkola Opera in 2004 and served as principal conductor until the company closed in 2018. In 2005, he recorded Mahler's Fifth Symphony with the City of Birmingham Symphony, an effort that drew much critical acclaim.
In 2008, Oramo became the chief conductor and artistic advisor of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, concluding his tenure there following the 2020-2021 season and taking the role of conductor laureate. Among Oramo's more lauded recordings with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic is the Nobel Prize Concert 2010, issued in 2011 on Accentus, featuring works by Beethoven, Sibelius, and Tchaikovsky. Following a successful guest conducting appearance in 2011, Oramo assumed the post of chief conductor and artistic director of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 2015. Oramo was featured on several albums in 2019, including the Chandos album Sibelius: Lemminkäinen Suite; Spring Song; Suite from Belshazzar's Feast, conducting the BBC Symphony, and an Ondine album of horn concertos with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, featuring Markus Maskuniitty. Oramo has continued his rigorous recording pace in the 2020s, leading the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on a recording of Unsuk Chin's Piano Concerto with pianist Sunwook Kim in 2023.
© Robert Cummings & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Ravel: La valse, M. 72 & Other Works
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by BIS on Feb 4, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonies n°5 et n°6
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Classical - Released by Ondine on Aug 7, 2012
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Khatchaturian: Cello Concerto in E Minor & Violin Concerto in D Minor
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Classical - Released by Orfeo on Mar 9, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Respighi: Concerto in modo misolidio - Fontane di Roma
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Classical - Released by Ondine on Sep 28, 2010
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
J. Gade: Tango jalousie
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Classical - Released by Dacapo on Jun 8, 2018
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grieg : Peer Gynt Suites 1, 2 & Symphonic Dances
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on Oct 13, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius & Walton Violin Concertos
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Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
LINDBERG, M.: Clarinet Concerto / Gran Duo / Chorale (Kriikku, Finnish Radio Symphony, Oramo)
Kari Kriikku, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by Ondine on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius : Karelia Suite, Pohjola's Daughter, The Bard, Finlandia & Tapiola
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on Sep 1, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Symphonies Nos. 4 & 5
Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by BIS on Feb 3, 2014
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Causton: La terra impareggiabile
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Classical - Released by NMC Recordings on Oct 28, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
KOKKONEN, J.: Cello Concerto / Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4 (Finnish Radio Symphony)
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Classical - Released by Ondine on Jan 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Per Nørgård : Symphonies Nos. 1 & 8
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Symphonies - Released by Dacapo on Jun 3, 2014
Gramophone AwardGramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Gál: Music for Viola, Vol. 1
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24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Foulds : Dynamic Triptych, Music-Pictures III & Orchestral Miniatures
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on Mar 1, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Foulds : 3 Mantras, Mirage, Lyra Celtica & Apotheosis
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on Aug 1, 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
LINDBERG, M.: Sculpture / Campana in Aria / Concerto for Orchestra (Tapani, Finnish Radio Symphony, Oramo)
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Esa Tapani, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by Ondine on Jan 1, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
MIELCK, E.: Symphony in F minor / Konzertstuck in D major
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16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra, Sz. 116, Romanian Dances, Sz. 68 & Concerto for Two Pianos and Percussion, Sz. 115
Classical - Released by Warner Classics International on Mar 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Renée Fleming: Distant Light
Renée Fleming, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sakari Oramo
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 6, 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chin: Piano Concerto: III.
Berliner Philharmoniker, Sakari Oramo, Sunwook Kim
Concertos - Released by Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings on Nov 10, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo