Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra 2026-2027

Kullervo
Thu 3 Sep 2026 at 7 PM, Tampere Hall (Main Auditorium)

Matthew Halls, conductor
Johanna Rusanen-Kartano, soprano
Ville Rusanen, baritone
Male Singers of the Tampere Philharmonic Choir and Tampere Opera Choir & Pirkanpojat boys’ choir

Jean Sibelius: Kullervo

Jean Sibelius’s national awakening burst into full bloom already in his first orchestral work, the monumental Kullervo. This symphonic poem for orchestra, male choir and soloists, brimming with youthful ambition, remains one of the greatest achievements of Finnish music. The most tragic hero of the Kalevala is brought to life by internationally acclaimed opera stars Johanna Rusanen-Kartano and Ville Rusanen.

Season series concert.
The concert lasts approximately two hours. You can find the exact duration and more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


Sibelius 5
Fri 11 Sep 2026 at 7 PM, Tampere Hall (Main Auditorium)
Kristian Sallinen, conductor
Otto Antikainen, violin

Väinö Raitio: Moonlight on Jupiter
Kaija Saariaho: Graal théâtre, concerto for violin and orchestra
Jean Sibelius: Symphony No. 5

In a tone poem by Väinö Raitio, the godfather of Finnish modernism, cosmic wheels turn in infinite stardust. Violinist Otto Antikainen ascends into the atmosphere in Kaija Saariaho’s spellbinding concerto Graal théâtre. In his Fifth Symphony, Jean Sibelius surrendered to a celestial guidance: “As if God had thrown down pieces of a mosaic from heaven and asked me to work out the pattern.”

Season series concert. Pre-concert talk at 6 PM.
The concert lasts approximately two hours. You can find the exact duration and more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


French Romanticism
Fri 18 Sep 2026 at 7 PM, Tampere Hall (Main Auditorium)

Chloé Van Soeterstède, conductor
Aristo Sham, piano

Lili Boulanger: Of a Spring Morning (D’un matin de printemps)
Camille Saint-Saëns: Piano Concerto No. 5 in F major, “Egyptian”
César Franck: Symphony in D minor

How do you describe an experience that can only be felt? Lili Boulanger, gone too soon, captured the radiance of a spring morning in a dazzling tone poem; César Franck infused his symphony with yearning romanticism, and Camille Saint-Saëns evoked impressions of his African journey with lightning-fast brilliance. Guiding us toward visions of Egypt is Aristo Sham, winner of both the jury and the audience awards at the 2025 Van Cliburn Competition.

Season series concert. Pre-concert talk at 6 PM.
The concert lasts approximately two hours. You can find the exact duration and more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


Afternoon of Fauns: Transformations
Sun 20 Sep 2026 at 3 PM, Tampere Hall (Small Auditorium)

Esa-Pekka Salonen: Homunculus
Kati Tuominen-Heroja and Heidi Kuula, violin, Heili Hannikainen, viola and Elina Rouvali, cello

Oskar Böhme: Soirée de St.-Pétersbourg – Romance
Tamás Mészáros, trumpet and Kirsti Vartiainen, harp

Antonio Vivaldi: ”Agitata da due venti” from Griselda, RV 718
Tamás Mészáros, trumpet and Viktor Pellia, piano

Ethel Smyth: String Trio in D major, Op. 6
Lotta Laaksonen, violin, Anne Korhonen, viola and Maija Juuti, cello

The homunculus, the “little man” of ancient alchemy, was a wild and unruly test-tube being. Esa-Pekka Salonen’s miniature string quartet likewise distills its material into something charged with primal vitality. A leading voice in the British women’s movement, Ethel Smyth composed her way through glass ceilings; her string trio glows with light and feeling. In the atmospheric trumpet arias, Tamás Mészáros’s virtuosity turns into gold.

The concert is hosted by composer Minna Leinonen. The concert lasts approximately two hours and includes an intermission. You can find the exact duration and more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


The Firebird
Fri 25 Sep 2026 at 7 PM, Tampere Hall (Main Auditorium)

Stephanie Childress, conductor
Marjukka Tepponen, soprano

Mary Kouyoumdjian: new work, world premiere, co-commissioned by TPO
Benjamin Britten: Les Illuminations
Igor Stravinsky: The Firebird Suite

The rocket-like rise of conductor Stephanie Childress continues with her Tampere debut, imbued with anticipation and magic: Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird glows with the fantasy of a folk tale, while Benjamin Britten’s Les Illuminations sweeps Marjukka Tepponen into existential turbulence. American-Armenian Mary Kouyoumdjian is known for soundscapes drawn from her own roots, with a hypnotic pull that bypasses the subconscious. Her latest work comes to life in this concert.

Season series concert. Pre-concert talk at 6 PM.
The concert lasts approximately two hours. You can find the exact duration and more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


Zarathustra
Fri 9 Oct 2026 at 7 PM, Tampere Hall (Main Auditorium)

Olari Elts, conductor
Aleksi Mäkimattila, horn

Arvo Pärt: Symphony No. 3
Jouni Kaipainen: Horn Concerto
Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra

Spiritual awakening takes many musical forms. In Arvo Pärt’s symphony, soul triumphs over matter; in Richard Strauss’s tone poem, the heavens flash in a Nietzschean struggle between light and darkness. Jouni Kaipainen, long-serving composer-in-residence of the Tampere Philharmonic, left a rich legacy of concertos. In the heroic horn concerto, the soloist is pushed beyond physical limits. The challenge is taken up by the orchestra’s own Aleksi Mäkimattila.

Season series concert. Pre-concert talk at 6 PM.
The concert lasts approximately two hours. You can find the exact duration and more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


Concert for the whole family: Lost Key
Fri 23 Oct 2026 at 6 PM, Tampere Hall (Main Auditorium)

Marzi Nyman, conductor, guitar and vocals
Hanna Vahtikari, narrator (in Finnish)
Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra

In this house, somewhere, I’ve lost my key! It might be here or there, under the cake, on top of the cupboard! Could you help me a little – would you look for the key?
In this joyful and visually rich children’s concert, we search for a missing key. Playful rhymes guide us as we peek into every apartment in an apartment building, while getting to know its colorful residents. Music, story, and visuals come together to create a delightful adventure the whole family will want to join.
The concert is based on Sanna Mander’s Finlandia Prize–winning children’s book. The music is composed by Marzi Nyman, commissioned by Tapiola Sinfonietta, and the narrator is the wonderful Hanna Vahtikari (narration in Finnish). The concert is directed by Anne Rautiainen, with set and costume design by Annukka Pykäläinen.

The concert lasts approximately 45 minutes and is recommended for children aged 4 and up. No intermission.
You can find more information on the orchestra’s website:www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


The Touch of Beauty
Fri 30 Oct 2026 at 7 PM, Tampere Hall (Main Auditorium)

Mario Venzago, conductor
Tampere Philharmonic Choir

Mario Venzago: Ulisse
Johannes Brahms: Nänie, for chorus and orchestra
Felix Mendelssohn: Symphony No. 5, “Reformation”

Conductor Mario Venzago leads us on a musical journey one would never wish to end. Brahms’s Nänie for choir and orchestra is a quiet elegy for beauty and love—and for the transience of all things. Mendelssohn’s work moves from a devout introduction toward a radiant finale, in which Luther’s hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God rises to a symphonic conclusion.

Season series concert.
The concert lasts approximately two hours. You can find the exact duration and more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


In the Eye of the Storm
Fri 6 Nov 2026 at 7 PM, Tampere Hall (Main Auditorium)

Nuno Coelho, conductor
Cédric Tiberghien, piano

Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3
Dmitri Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10

Nuno Coelho returns to Tampere, this time in even more dramatic form. Dmitri Shostakovich embedded messages in his music against the oppressive machinery of the state. His Tenth Symphony is a bittersweet farewell to Stalin and the age of terror. Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto shimmers with early Romantic fervour. Its virtuosic fire sweeps everything up, especially in the hands of Beethoven specialist Cédric Tiberghien.

Season series concert. Pre-concert talk at 6 PM.
The concert lasts approximately two hours. You can find the exact duration and more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


Afternoon of Fauns: Sonic Delight
Sun 8 Nov 2026 at 3 PM, Tampere Hall (Small Auditorium)

Jacques Ibert: Deux interludes for flute, viola and harp
Annaleena Jämsä, flute, Elizabete Jokiranta, viola and Liisa Viitanen, harp

François Devienne: Duo for flute and viola in C minor, Op. 5 No. 3
Annaleena Jämsä, flute and Elizabete Jokiranta, viola

Roope Mäenpää: Alarm Fatigue
Linda Halme and Anna Angervo, violin, Heili Hannikainen, viola, Maija Juuti, cello and Kalle Oittinen, saxophone

Felix Mendelssohn: Piano Trio No. 2 in C minor, Op. 66
Kati Tuominen-Heroja, violin, Risto Rajakorpi, cello and Jouko Laivuori, piano

French flute music speaks with a spirit beyond words: nearly 150 years separate Jacques Ibert and François Devienne, yet their music shares the same sensual pulse. “The world’s most Tampere-rooted composer” Roope Mäenpää’s quintet shakes a mind dulled by a constant state of alert. Felix Mendelssohn’s piano trio, by contrast, is impossible to grow numb to – a stormy masterpiece of musical delight from start to finish.

The concert is hosted by composer Minna Leinonen. The concert lasts approximately two hours and includes an intermission. You can find the exact duration and more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


Water Music
Thu 12 Nov 2026 at 7 PM, Tampere Hall (Main Auditorium)

Kreeta-Maria Kentala, conductor and violin
Johannes Põlda, violin

Georg Philipp Telemann: Water music (Hamburger Ebb und Fluth)
Antonio Vivaldi: Concerto for Two Violins in D minor
George Frideric Handel: Water Music Suites in G major (HWV 350) and D major (HWV 349)

In the history of music, the early eighteenth century rises like an ocean into which all streams flow. New depths emerged, expression swells like a flood, instrumental colour shimmers, and virtuosity courses through it all. In Handel’s and Telemann’s Water Music, an irresistible currents murmur; Vivaldi’s concerto bubbles with pure joy of playing. Early music specialist Kreeta-Maria Kentala steers the listener into the whirlpools of the Baroque.

Season series concert. Pre-concert talk at 6 PM.
The concert lasts approximately two hours. You can find the exact duration and more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


Romantic Favourites
Fri 27 Nov 2026 at 7 PM, Tampere Hall (Main Auditorium)

Miguel Sepúlveda, conductor
Elisabeth Brauß, piano

Lotta Wennäkoski: Flounce
Edvard Grieg: Piano Concerto
Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5

In Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, the music teems with passion as a yearning for freedom challenges the power of fate. Edvard Grieg’s beloved piano concerto unfolds Norwegian melodies in a whirlwind of dance. The globe-trotting conductor Miguel Sepúlveda takes flight in a richly varied programme. Opening work “Flounce” is composer Lotta Wennäkoski’s captivating orchestral romp.

Season series concert. Pre-concert talk at 6 PM.
The concert lasts approximately two hours. You can find the exact duration and more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


Waltteri Torikka & Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra: Christmas Concert
Fri 11 Dec 2026 at 7 PM, Tampere Hall (Main Auditorium)

Conductor
Waltteri Torikka, baritone

A sparkling sky, a velvety baritone, and the vibrant splendor of a full orchestra. In this concert starring Waltteri Torikka, the audience is invited to revel in the most beautiful music of the Christmas season with the beloved baritone and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra.

You can find more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


Afternoon of Fauns: A Dancing Enchanted Forest
Sun 13 Dec 2026 at 3 PM, Tampere Hall (Small Auditorium)

Gioachino Rossini: Duet for cello and double bass
Sampo Liukko, cello and Joni Armio, double bass

Pablo de Sarasate: Spanish Dances, Op. 23: No. 1 Playera and No. 2 Zapateado
Ivi Ots, violin and Tuomas Turriago, piano

Tuomas Turriago: Sonata for Horn and Piano, Jouni Kaipainen in Memoriam
Aleksi Mäkimattila, horn and Tuomas Turriago, piano

Mel Bonis: Scènes de la Forêt
Nina Johnson, flute, Hanna-Leena Savolainen, piano and Pauliina Koskela, horn

The afternoon sun filters through the leaves, revealing the many facets of chamber music: Sonata by Tampere-based Tuomas Turriago pays fittingly sharp tribute to the memory of Jouni Kaipainen, while Mel Bonis’s music evokes delicate visions of impressionist forest landscapes. Gioachino Rossini tunes his operatic humor for the cello and double bass, while Pablo de Sarasate’s Spanish rhythms set feet moving.

The concert is hosted by composer Minna Leinonen. The concert lasts approximately two hours and includes an intermission. You can find the exact duration and more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.


Santtu-Matias Rouvali & Alena Baeva
Thu 17 and Fri 18 Dec 2026 at 7 PM, Tampere Hall (Main Auditorium)

Santtu-Matias Rouvali, conductor
Alena Baeva, violin

Pyotr Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto
Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 1 “Titan”

*Contrary to earlier announcements, the concert will culminate in Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 instead of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.

Please note that the concert will be performed twice with the same program. The December 18 concert is included in the autumn 2026 season series and will be preceded by the Pre-concert talk at 6 PM.

The concert lasts approximately two hours. You can find the exact duration and more information on the orchestra’s website: www.tamperefilharmonia.fi/en/

Changes are possible.