Storgårds named BBC Philharmonic chief conductor
Finnish maestro cements a successful artistic partnership begun over a decade ago
After more than a decade of paying regular visits as principal guest conductor and then chief guest conductor, John Storgårds is now able to call the BBC Philharmonic home. The Salford-based orchestra has announced the 59-year-old Finn as its new chief conductor with immediate effect, filling a vacancy left by the departure of Omer Meir Wellber last summer.
While some appointments involve a daring plunge into the unknown for both conductor and orchestra, in this instance it’s based on a familiarity borne out of years of working together on stage and in the studio since Storgårds first conducted the BBC Philharmonic in 2010. Highlights have included widely acclaimed recordings of Nielsen’s and Sibelius’s complete symphonies for the Chandos label – the latter set featured the first recordings of the remaining fragments of Sibelius’s discarded Eighth Symphony.
Initially a violinist, Storgårds studied with conductor Jorma Panula at Helsinki’s Sibelius Academy before forging his early career in his home country. He has been artistic director of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra, Europe’s most northerly professional orchestra, for 25 years, and has also held chief conductor posts with the Helsinki Philharmonic and Tampere Philharmonic orchestras. Outside Finland, he has been principal guest conductor of the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, since 2015.
‘It is with pure enthusiasm that I’m now going to be the orchestra’s new chief conductor,’ says Storgårds about his new appointment. ‘Over my many years of collaboration with the BBC Philharmonic, our partnership has been built on great musicmaking and trust. Together, we have already completed a number of fantastic projects. The BBC Philharmonic is widely known as an extraordinarily brilliant, skilful and versatile orchestra. I am very proud to be continuing our musical journey together!’
In appointing a Finn, the BBC Philharmonic is following in the footsteps of the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, for whom Osmo Vänskä was chief conductor from 1996-2002, and the
BBC Symphony Orchestra, where Sakari Oramo has been chief conductor since 2013. The BBC Symphony Orchestra also boasts another Finn, Dalia Stasevska, as its current principal guest conductor.
Shades of Gray
With Andrew Nethsingha heading to
London as the new organist and master of the choristers at Westminster Abbey, Christopher Gray has been named as his successor as music director of the Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge. Gray moves to the Fenlands after 14 very successful years as director of music at Truro Cathedral where, before taking the reins, he was once assistant to Nethsingha himself.
Haydn Hi!
Also on the move is British conductor and keyboardist Jonathan Cohen, who has been named as the next artistic director of the Handel and Haydn Society. His appointment follows the decision of Harry Christophers to bid farewell after 15 years at the Bostonbased ensemble which, with a history dating right back to 1815, is the oldest arts organisation in the US.
Cardiff hall fears
Cellist Sheku Kanneh-mason is among several high-profile musicians who have expressed their concern at proposals by Cardiff City Council to hand over control of the city’s St David’s Hall to Academy Music Group. More than 19,000 people have also signed a petition against the take-over, fearing that the venue, which seats 2,000 and hosts events such as BBC Cardiff Singer of the World, may no longer host classical music concerts if it goes ahead.
Not a super spreader
Research in the UK has concluded that an American report on Covid that led to the banning of choral singing was flawed. The report in March 2020 said that one infected singer was responsible for the spread of Covid among choir members at a rehearsal of the Skagit Valley Chorale – and thus beyond – in Washington state, but analysis of data now suggests that the disease was already rife in the community.