Hannu Lintu

In conjunction with the upcoming MPO performance on 31.5.2008, we have done a google search on the conductor for the night, Hannu Lintu and his biodata is indeed impressive.

He is a rising star in the constellation of brilliant young Finnish conductors, Hannu Lintu has recently been appointed Chief Conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic. His duties will begin there in August of 2009. Working extensively in Europe and the rest of the world, Mr. Lintu has made guest appearances with the Bergen Philharmonic, Berlin Symphony, Danish Radio Symphony, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National de Belgique, Orchestre National de Bordeaux, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Stavanger Symphony, Stuttgart Radio Symphony, and regularly conducts all the major orchestras in his native Finland. Outside Europe, he has recently worked with the Malaysian Philharmonic, Nagoya Philharmonic in Japan, New Zealand Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Sydney Symphony, and Vancouver Symphony, Festival appearances include the Adelaide Festival, Berliner Festspiele, Flanders Festival, Grant Park Festival, and the Golden Autumn Festival in Beijing.During the current season, Mr. Lintu opened the season for the Copenhagen Philharmonic, and will make his debuts with the symphonies of Houston, Indianapolis, New Jersey, Phoenix, and San Antonio.

He will also appear with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Orquestra Nacional do Porto, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and return to the Finnish Radio Symphony, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Malaysian Philharmonic, Nagoya Philharmonic, Oregon Symphony, and Sinfonia Lahti.Equally at home in opera, Hannu Lintu has conducted several productions for the Finnish National Opera including Bizet’s Carmen, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Wagner’s Parsifal, Aulis Sallinen’s King Lear and Kalevi Aho’s Before We Are All Drowned.

In 2004, he conducted a concert performance of Gianni Schicchi at the Grant Park Festival in Chicago and recorded Tauno Pylkkanen’s opera Mare and Her Son. Future opera engagements include La Traviata and a new opera by Mikko Heiniö, The Snake’s Moment.For Ondine and Naxos, Mr. Lintu has released CDs of works by Rautavaara, Saariaho and Luca Francesconi with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, Finnish Radio Orchestra and the Danish National Radio Orchestra.

He has made two recordings with the Helsingborg Symphony for Danacord: The Sound of Shakespeare and the two piano concertos of Shostakovich with pianist Oleg Marshev. Recent releases include works by the Finnish composer Jouni Kaipainen with the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra for Ondine and works by Schumann, Dietrich, Gernsheim and Volkmann on Hyperion with the Berlin Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester.

Mr. Lintu has held artistic director positions with the Helsingborg Symphony, Turku Philharmonic and the Bergen Collegium Musicum Chamber Orchestra. He is a regular guest conductor of the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra and was the artistic director of their 2005 Summer Sounds Festival, reflecting his strong commitment to contemporary music.Born in Finland, Hannu Lintu began his musical studies with the cello and piano at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He continued there to study conducting with Eri Klas and Jorma Panula, and later at the Accademia Chigiana in Italy with Myung Whun Chung. In 1994, Mr. Lintu was first-prize winner at the Nordic Conductor’s Competition in Bergen, Norway.