Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali was termed "the latest sit-up-and-listen talent to emerge from the great Finnish conducting tradition" by The Guardian. He has conducted major orchestras in Finland and Sweden, and in 2021, he became principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London.
Rouvali was born in Lahti, Finland on November 5, 1985. His parents were both musicians and members of the Lahti Symphony Orchestra. Rouvali started as a percussionist, represented Finland in the Eurovision Young Soloists competition in 2004, and performed on percussion with the Lahti Symphony, the Finnish Radio Symphony, and other groups. Studying at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, he switched to conducting in his early twenties and took classes with Leif Segerstam, Hannu Lintu, and Jorma Panula. In September of 2009, Rouvali gained attention when he stepped in to conduct the Finnish Radio Symphony on an emergency basis. The following year he guest-conducted the Tapiola Sinfonietta, leading to a three-year association with that ensemble. Rouvali's longest-running engagement in Finland has been with the Tampere Philharmonic, which he guest-conducted in 2010 and 2011, and then, in 2013, became chief conductor; he retained that position until 2023. That year, he made his recording debut, leading the Oulu Symphony Orchestra and guitarist Timo Korhonen in works by Kimmo Hakola and Toshio Hosokawa.
Meanwhile, he was beginning to find work outside Finland, with the Copenhagen Philharmonic in Denmark, where he became principal guest conductor in 2013, and with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Sweden, where he made appearances as guest conductor (after one of which, his publicity claims, "delirious joy spread like wildfire throughout the audience"), and was appointed chief conductor two years later. He has also made guest appearances with the Oslo Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, among others. In 2017, Rouvali was named one of two principal guest conductors of the Philharmonia Orchestra, ascending to principal conductor in 2021. Even before that, he had begun to record with the Philharmonia, issuing albums of music by Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev on the Signum Classics label. In 2019, he led the Gothenburg Symphony in a recording of Sibelius' Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Op. 39, on the Alpha label. That marked the beginning of a critically acclaimed Sibelius cycle; in 2022, his recording of the Symphonies Nos. 3 and 5, with the tone poem Pohjola's Daughter, appeared on Alpha.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Sibelius: Symphony No. 4 - The Wood Nymph - Valse Triste
Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on Jan 19, 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphonies Nos. 3 & 5 Pohjola's Daughter
Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on Oct 21, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius : Symphony No. 1 - En saga
Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on Jan 18, 2019
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Santtu conducts the Nutcracker Suite
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Ballets - Released by Philharmonia Records Ltd on Dec 8, 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius : Symphony No. 2 - King Christian II
Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on Feb 7, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Santtu Conducts Strauss
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Mar 24, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Santtu Conducts Mahler
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Sep 22, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Symphony No.5
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Mar 12, 2021
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Bosmans: Concertstuk voor viool en orkest
Vesko Eschkenazy, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Classical - Released by Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on Apr 7, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Ballets - Released by Signum Records on Sep 4, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ariadne
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Classical - Released by Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra on Apr 15, 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius & Nielsen: Violin Works
Baiba Skride, Tampere Filharmonia, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Classical - Released by Orfeo on Aug 28, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30, TrV 176: I. Prelude 'Sonnenaufgang'
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Feb 9, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Concertos pour guitare
Timo Korhonen, Oulu Sinfonia, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Classical - Released by Ondine on May 7, 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Adams & Korngold : Violin Concertos
Ilya Gringolts, Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Julien Salemkour
Classical - Released by Orchid Classics on Apr 13, 2017
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Swan Lake, Op. 20, Act III No. 21, Spanish Dance: Allegro non troppo (Tempo di bolero)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Ballets - Released by Signum Records on Aug 26, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Swan Lake, Op. 20, Act I No. 10, Scene: Moderato
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Ballets - Released by Signum Records on Jul 29, 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Firebird Suite, K010, (1945 Version): X. Infernal dance of King Kashchei
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Feb 21, 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Symphony No. 2: III. In ruhig fliessender Bewergung
Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Philharmonia Orchestra, Jennifer Johnston
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Aug 22, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64, TrV 233: XXII. Nacht
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Classical - Released by Signum Classics on Mar 9, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Petrushka, K012 (1947 Version), Pt. 1, "The Shrovetide Fair": IV. Russian Dance
Philharmonia Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Feb 7, 2024
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo