Around the Music Festival

South Korea’s KBS Symphony Orchestra has announced that it will welcome Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen as Principal Conductor and Music Director. The term of office is three years from January 1, 2022. The post of chief conductor was vacant after Yoel Levi retired.

Inkinen is 41 years old born in Kouvola, Finland. He started playing the violin at the age of four and learned conducting at the Sibelius Conservatory in addition to the violin from Jorma Panula, Leif Segerstam and Atso Almila.

He also studied under Zakhar Bron. He has won the 4th place in the 8th “International Sibelius Violin Competition”.

After that, he turned into a conductor. After serving as Music Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (2008-2016), he became Principal Conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra in 2015.

Since 2016 he has been the Principal Conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, and since 2017 he has also been the Principal Conductor of the German Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern German Broadcasting Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2019, he was selected as the conductor of the Wagner’s “The Ring of the Nibelung” four-part work, which will be newly produced at the Bayreuth Festival in 2020, and attracted a lot of attention.

In 2020, the music festival due to the spread of the new coronavirus will be canceled, and in 2022, when it will be repartitioned, he will lead the new four-part work.

He guest-starred in KBS Symphony in 2006, 2008 and 2020. He will conduct Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 on December 24th this year.

Photo：IMG Artists　/　Mechthild Schneider


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