Principal Conductor Pietari Inkinen's contract extension (September 2021 - August 2023)

We are pleased to announce that the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra has decided to extend the contract with current Principal Conductor Pietari Inkinen for two years, starting in September 2021.
The two have been working together since September 2009, with him serving as Principal Guest Conductor, and since September 2016 as Principal Conductor, and this will mark their 12th season together.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, we have been deprived of the opportunity to perform with Inkinen since October 2019. We have lost both the Beethoven Cycle, which we had so much hoped to start, and the opportunity to perform Wagner, which Inkinen was finally planning to take on at the 2020 Bayreuth Festival. The artistic damage to the Japan Philharmonic and Inkinen, who had been aiming to make even greater strides using their 2019 European tour as a springboard, is immeasurable. It would be a shame to see our relationship end in this way, with a "fade-out," and we simply cannot abandon the foundations we have built over more than 10 years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

So I decided to get my revenge by extending the program by two years and continue my journey with Inkinen in search of the mainstream of German music.
And once the COVID-19 pandemic is over, we hope to restore the vitality that is characteristic of Japan Philharmonic Orchestra concerts and "share the excitement" with our audiences.

The Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, together with its Principal Conductor Pietari Inkinen, will continue to steadily forge ahead on the path it must pursue as an orchestra. We would appreciate your continued support.

A message from Pietari Inkinen   As the Principal Conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, I am extremely pleased to be able to walk this journey with them for another two years, especially now that we have not been able to create music together for over a year due to the COVID-2 pandemic. After touring Europe for the first time in 13 years in 2019, I would like to complete a project centered around Beethoven that I had planned for the 2020 season. This global pandemic has dramatically changed the lives of musicians, and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra is also facing a very trying time. I hope that this difficult time will come to an end as soon as possible and that I will be able to return to the podium of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra as soon as possible, and I ask for your continued support.   As Chief Conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, I have not had the opportunity to make music with the orchestra for over a year due to the coronavirus situation, so I am very pleased that the orchestra and I will be able to continue our journey together for two more years. Following the realization of the 2019 European tour (the orchestra's first European tour in 13 years), I would like to complete the project focusing on Beethoven which had been planned for the 2020 season.   The worldwide pandemic has greatly changed the lives of musicians. This has been a very challenging time for the Japan Philharmonic as well. I sincerely hope this difficult period comes to an end as quickly as possible, and that it will soon be the time when I can return to the Japan Philharmonic conductor's podium. I will be grateful for your continued support. Pietari Inkinen

Pietari Inkinen [Principal Conductor]

Inkinen has been gaining attention for his work expanding around the world. He has served as Principal Conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, where he has served as Principal Guest Conductor since 2009 and as Principal Conductor since 2016. His current term of office was extended for two years from September 2021, and is scheduled to run until the summer of 2023.
In January 2019, he led the Prague Symphony Orchestra on a three-week tour of Japan, and in April he embarked on his first European tour in 13 years, visiting Finland, Germany, Austria, and the UK with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, including visits to Helsinki and Inkinen's hometown of Kouvola to commemorate the 100th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Finland.
Wagner's music remains at the heart of Inkinen's activities, and in the summer of 2020 he was invited to conduct a new production of the complete Ring Cycle directed by Valentin Schwarz in Bayreuth. However, this was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2021 he is scheduled to conduct Die Walküre (the Ring Cycle has been postponed to 2022). His performances of Wagner's Der Ring Cycle with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra have also received high praise. He performed Die Walküre in 2013, excerpts from Siegfried and Götterdämmerung in his inaugural concert as chief conductor in 2016, and the complete Rheingold in 2019 (all in concert format).
As a guest conductor, he has performed with the Concertgebouw Orchestra, North German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, Munich Philharmonic, La Scala Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, and Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, among others.
His operatic appearances include the Finnish National Opera, the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, the Berlin State Opera and the Bavarian State Opera, and he conducted several highly successful new productions of Eugene Onegin at the Dresden State Opera.
He previously served as Principal Conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra from 2015 to 2020 and Music Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra from 2008 to 2016, and currently holds the title of Honorary Conductor.
A violinist, he studied under Zakhar Bron at the University of Music in Cologne and has won numerous awards for his solo work before embarking on further conducting studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He currently enjoys playing and conducting, as well as performing chamber music with his regular musical colleagues.

Pietari Inkinen official page http://www.pietariinkinen.com/

Japan Philharmonic Orchestra