Orchestra

When Robert Kajanus established an orchestra in Helsinki in 1882, his ambitious plan was to gather together the city’s best musicians and others recruited from abroad – some 36 in all – in order to give the people of Helsinki a chance to hear great musical masterpieces at a series of weekly concerts.  

The principle of putting on regular concerts given by an orchestra of top musicians has remained right up to the present day in the over 140 years since the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra was formed. It premiered most of the symphonic works by Jean Sibelius with the composer himself conducting, and continues its commitment to contemporary music by commissioning works by composers both Finnish and foreign. 

Now a band of 102 musicians, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra annually performs to a total audience of over 100,000 and has become an important constituent of its host city’s cultural capital. The orchestra’s work also touches those who, for one reason or another, are unable to attend concerts at the Helsinki Music Centre. The orchestra performs in a variety of ensembles throughout Helsinki, provides performance opportunities for children and young people, and reaches special groups through its wide-ranging education and outreach activities. The orchestra’s HPO Kids program, launched in 2000, has expanded into Culture Kids, a city-wide cultural program for children across Helsinki.

In addition to its activities in Helsinki, the orchestra reaches international audiences through touring abroad and an active recording programme. The HKO Screen concerts, available online both as live streams and on-demand recordings, together with background interviews, bring viewers around the world closer to the creative process behind a musical work.

Jukka-Pekka Saraste has served as the chief conductor and artistic leader of the orchestra since 2023. During the seasons 2026–2028 the post of the principal guest conductor is filled by the orchestra itself, with concerts performed without a conductor and with programs planned by the musicians themselves.

Information on every concert ever given by the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra since 1882 can be found as open data in the Helsinki Region Infoshare database. You can find the infromation also from HPO Concert Information database.