Breaking: Finn kid takes Hong Kong Phil
NewsThe Hong Kong Philharmonic has named the Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski as its music director from next year. He succeeds Jaap Van Zweden, who held the job for a dozen years while juggling several other appointments abroad.
Tarmo, at 24, is Music and Artistic Director of the The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra; Principal Guest Conductor of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen; Principal Guest Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic and incoming music direector of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse.
In Hong Kong, we are told, he will be younger than the orchestra’s most junior member.
For me, it is ridiculous – but I see a point here: the truth is, every orchestra needs to find a way to secure public and press interest, thus choosing such a conductor as chief. Nowadays, not every orchestra can afford to choose an artist that doesn’t fill this criteria (whatever reason that has nothing to do with music), so that artistic quality becomes rather secondary.
Probably most of the people that really knows something about music will agree, that this conductor is way too young to make a real difference in the arts world right now, but if it sells, it’s good enough for many (and if it is affordable for the orchestra). It is the sad truth, that’s probably why no better conductor was chosen.
Personally I believe that Finland has many good conductors, but this guy is really not the case for me.. I would prefer to hear more about Rouvali, Salonen and Oramo.
He is too young. He is too inexperienced. He doesn’t want to do the work. Hong Kong used to have the greatest musicians and orchestras in the world. That’s why I came here. I always knew I would be in Asia. What is his connection to Hong Kong? China? Asia?
This is a win. The organization is mature enough. The orchestra itself has a history of hiring younger musicians into leadership positions, from former and current principal horns – both Mark and Lin are great horn players, current principal trumpet Nittiphum was a startling revelation, and even current concertmaster Jing Wang and many more were in their 20’s when appointed. The young maestro has been at it for a very long time, and learned from amazing mentors. Sure he is young, but he’ll learn quickly. Orchestral musicians can tell if someone on the podium has something or not. You ask what is his connection? At least to the region, a genetic one, for starters – his mother is Filipino, and that connection will deepen with time. What’s yours? Stop whining.
You also forgot to mention Sebastian Jacot, who was hired by Edo deWaart to play in HKPhil when he was just 19 years old. He is now Principal Flute of the Berlin Philharmonic! Nobody ever questioned his age or talent when he was here and his current job proves he always had what it takes.
You’re absolutely right! HK Phil was Sebastian’s first job I believe, and yes he was very young when he entered the orchestra.
He chose to be there, and always wanted to be there. Is that a less valid reason, in your mind, than a historical genetic connection to an unrelated country in the region?
@Corno – absolutely not. That was a response to another commenter who asked about Tarmo’s connection to HK, or even Asia. HK is itself an international city, and of course I agree that prior connection of any sort is not a necessity. All that will matter is the quality of the work that he does with the orchestra, which, if reports from the orchestra members are to be believed, means the future is looking good!
How on earth have you even the faintest idea that “he doesn’t want to do the work?’ You know perfectly well you have zero clue what he plans to do! And you still refuse to elaborate what you stated earlier, which in effect you more or less again restate in your erroneous comment, “Hong Kong used to have the greatest musicians and orchestras in the world.” That, as I have said, is utter rubbish! Hong Kong has only ever had two professional orchestras! Period! The Hong Kong Philharmonic became professional only in 1974. After many mis-steps, it only stablised around the mid-1980s. Then it all but stagnated under David Atherton, who spoke no Chinese and knew little of China when appointed, before plumbing the depths under the Hong Kong Canadian Chinese Samuel Wong at the turn of the century. It was only during Edo de Waart’s directorship in the early years of the century that the quality really started to improve dramatically. As for the Hong Kong Sinfonietta, it was only formally established in 1999. So where were the “greatest musicians and orchestras” that Hong Kong used to have and which, you claim, drew you to Hong Kong in the first place? An answer might justify your claim, but since that is unjustifiable, I will not expect one.
Perhaps you are talking about the excellent Academy for Performing Arts which opened in 1986. That, like your Baptist University, is a training instition (albeit an extremely fine one) for study in music, drama, dance and the technical arts. It has had some excellent teachers and faulty directors, including the former Principal Oboe and Chairman of the London Symphony Orchestra, Professor Anthony Camden. But Tony left Hong Kong around 2003. The excellent bass-baritone Michael Rippon gave up his extensive career in the west to become Head of the HKAPA Opera Department prior to its opening but he left that post in 1994. In the early 1980s one of London’s most distingished musicians, Carl Pini, relinquished the post of concertmaster of The Philharmonia to take up the same position with the Hong Kong Phil – but just for two years. I wonder precisely who might appear in your “greatest list”. Few others that I can recall have worked in Hong Kong for any extended period of time!
Roll up! The Barnum and Bailey circus is coming to town.
https://youtu.be/tmDSG_OQSL0?feature=shared&t=64
Best of luck to them
Richard Strauss and Carlos Kleiber rotate in their graves together.
More Like Achim Mentzel rotates in his grave. The kind of music you know more about.
Kleiber began his conducting career at age 24 in Potsdam (1954) and Strauss began composing at age 6. I’m missing your point unless it’s that younger people should sit on their hands.
I am really curious. I do not mind young talented people being guest conductors. It may (or does it?) bring younger audiences. But being a music director of a large institution is a different story. It is about having authority, experience and vision to build not only such a place, but also the community around it and to fight for the future of classical music and musicians. Can anyone imagine people of that age fighting successfully with politicians, educators, business people for the future of music, music education and their place in the modern world? Or are we just making it easier for classical music to be sidelined? Whether we like or not conductors like Karajan or Bernstein, they could speak to politicians as equals or even superiors. This guy’s musical career is shorter than the tenure of many politicians he would have to speak to.
“Can anyone imagine people of that age fighting successfully with politicians, educators,…”
Come on. The only thing these Finns fight for is self-dealing for themselves and their clan. They see Esa-Pekka Sociopath issuing unfundable demands and think they can do the same.
This hapless HK orchestra will now have to endure a crapload of Nordic nudnikkery on their stands as this androgynous sprout flits in and out for his weekends.
You sound idiotic and xenophobic.
Much of Mark’s comments refers to orchestras in the west. He forgets that Asia is not in the west and that the Hong Kong Philharmonic has always been heavily subsidized by the government requiring negotiations with politicians, civil servants and some business people. That group would certainly have agreed on the musicians decision that they wanted to work with Peltokoski, a conductor who is not new to them. Besides, the orchestra’s audience base is already a good deal younger than orchestras in the west. Add to that its CEO Benedict Fohr is particularly experienced in such matters and will actually handle most such discussions and negotiations. Those in the west – and many contributing to this blog – may not like it, but being in Hong Kong this week-end I can see first-hand there is a lot of excitement in the community about this appointment.
In reply to my earlier post about Mark’s comments, I just returned from Peltokowski’s Hong Kong concert. The 2,000 seat concert hall was packed. My guess is that in the stalls the average age of the audience was around 55. Above in the larger area in the tiers that surround the hall, that average will have dropped to somewhere around 35 – and maybe even less. How many orchestras in the west can boast such a young average audience? When Peltokowski first came on stage there was a roar of approval throughout the auditorium. The Hong Kong audience know him and despite all the carping in this thread were clearly happy with the Board’s choice as the new MD. After Seong-Jin Cho had given a simply stunning account of the Prokofiev 2nd concerto, Peltokowski led the orchestra in Mahler 5 from memory. It was a very fine performance.
You can’t even spell his name correctly.
Are you a musician? Do you know what it takes to make it in this business? As a professional conductor with decades of experience, I would not hire this person. What is his connection to Hong Kong? How will he make impact? Is he even willing to make impact? I hope he knows what he’s getting himself into. I doubt he does.
Let me ask you – are you really a “professional conductor”? I think not. Of amateur choirs, yes, but not of professional symphony orchestras.
First let me thank you for using your real name. But even at the Baptist University in Hong Kong where you teach, you rarely conduct concerts. Indeed the last I can see conducted by John Winzenburg was back in 2018. So to call yourself a professional conductor when you yourself describe yourself in one blog as a “faculty teacher – conductor [of choral music, my addition] – researcher” is more than far fetched.
Am I a musician? Yes I am. Trained as one and with a first class honours degree in music. And I have spent more than four decades working in the uper levels of what we can perhaps call the international professional classical music industry. OK? As for your comment “what is his [Peltokoski’s] connection to Hong Kong?” why on earth might it even be necessary to have any connection? Did Kenneth Schermerhorn, David Atherton, Edo de Waart and Jaap van Zweden have any connection whatever with Hong Kong when appointed MDs of the HK Phiharmonic? Absolutely none! The only local MD was Sam Wong at the turn of the century – and he turned out to be an absolute disaster! But then in an earlier post you considered those to be far better years than today! Have you actually attended HKPO or HK Sinfonietta concerts since then? It would seem not!
Re Peltokoski, when you consider that he is MD of the Latvian Philharmonic, MD of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the first-ever Principal Guest Conductor of the superb Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and Principal Guest Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic, your suggestion that he does not “know what he’s getting himself into” is just plain nonsense. Sorry, but that is the case!
My work is my business. I received 2 GRFs from the UGC. HKBU also got the top ranking in the RAE. For those who don’t know, that means we’re the best. It’s all about making impact. It’s because of my work that we got the top ranking. I also received a gold medal. Everyone is stressed about this, but ultimately everyone needs to do the work and make impact. Hong Kong isn’t like other places. This is a competition. The question is whether this new conductor has what it takes to make it in the competitive and dying arts landscape of Hong Kong. I would advise him to understand the culture, learn to speak Chinese, and continuously try to make impact. He’ll be evaluated at the highest levels in the world. He needs to be the best if he wants to succeed.
John Winzenburg (JW) again gets it all totally wrong. The arts in Hong Kong are flourishing in comparison to what he said were the golden years some decades ago. As a regular visitor to Hong Kong more than once a year (other than during covid) that is total b/s. It does seem throughout his posts that he has some personal axe to grind. Maybe that he hasn’t been taken seriously as a “conductor” – merely a guess. Now he suggests that Pelokoski should learn Chinese. For what possible reason when he will, like his predecessors at the HK Phil, be in Hong Kong for probably little more than 12-14 weeks a year. Once again he makes this extraordinary silly notion when he must know that none of Peltokoski’s predecessors since 1983 spoke any other than a few phrases of Chinese. Apart, that is, Sam Wong whose tenure as MD almost a quarter of a century ago was a disaster. Does he seriously believe that Jaap van Zweden will be learning Korean for his new orchestra? Or that great conducters like Sawallisch, Ashkenazy and Fabio Luisi learned Japanese for their multi-year positions with major Japanese orchestras? Of course they didn’t!
What I find most surprising is that given Winzenburg clearly dislikes – with more than a degree of intensity – what he considers has been happening to music in Hong Kong, why does he keep living there? Lots of openings elsewhere for choral conductors, I’d have thought.
Saw him conduct the Bremen ensemble recently. Seemed to know what he was doing and had a good rapport with the players. Impressive career building so far. An Oramo protege?
How can such a whippersnapper take on a professional Orchestra at such an age? It’s ridiculous! What happened to the need to spend years as an Understudy/Repetiteur learning the repertoire before graduating to such a Post. This is utter nonsense!
it´s far more important to play an orchestra instrument at top level in an orchestra than being a repetiteur….To know what it means to produce sound, both individually and collectively…..Alas, i have to say, his precedessor in Hongkong was a world class violinist, but a lousy conductor and musician. And a real pain in the ass.
Ideally a stringed instrument, but when it comes to opera a repetiteur does have the advantage of playing entire scores on the piano as well as coaching the singers. More relevant to opera conducting than symphonic but better than being parachuted into positions of responsibility dressed in nothing more than a conservatoire diploma.
More precisely Tarmo will be:
> Music Director Designate in 2025-2026
> Music Director 2026-2027 for four seasons.
So, Tarmo is set to become the Music Director Designate in 2025-2026, and then the full-fledged Music Director starting in 2026-2027. Seems straightforward enough, right?
But wait, what’s this? How exactly are we supposed to refer to dear Tarmo at this very moment in time?Goodness gracious, the powers that be in the Hong Kong Philharmonic must have stumbled upon some ancient orchestral bylaws that dictate one can only be a “Designate” for one year, and not a moment longer!
What a total nonsense post! Many conductors about to become Music Directors are titled “designate” for the first year (and sometimes more than 1 year) when they are too busy with prior engagements to assume all the MD duties immediately. It happens frequently with many ochestras.
Tarmo will succeed Makela at the Concertgebouw and Chicago once Klaus ages out at 35, too old to be fresh.
Meanwhile, Tarmo will hire Riccardo Muti as his assistant conductor.
The 3rd rate communist orchestra deserves him.
The HK Phil is an international orchestra with players from all over the world and trained to a great level by Jaap van Zweden. Their Ring box (Naxos) belongs to the best available. Their programming of new music is courageous and unorthodox and mostly successful. Compare that with the average European orchestra.
He’s the same age as Mengelberg was when he began to helm the Concertgebouw.
All the positive media and industry hoopla when Rattle moved to the CBSO aged 25 has clearly been forgotten by most who contribute to this blog.
Re Peltokoski’s week-end Hong Kong concerts, the influential South China Morning Post’s critic (a westerner) wrote this morning –
“If nothing else, the whoops from the audience – and the long queue afterwards for the autographs of Peltokoski and Cho – showed that the extended cheers after Jaap van Zweden’s final performances as music director a week earlier were not an anomaly. The Hong Kong Philharmonic has not seen this much excitement in some time.”
As for @zandonai’s comment below, he clearly has little knowledge of Asian history for his information that Hong Kong was ever a “democratic commonwealth” is a complete joke! Hong Kong was a British colony, an anachronism that never permitted democracy in all its more than a century of rule. It was a dictatorship ruled by an autocratic governor with more power than the Briish Prime Minister.
SCMP “reporters” are paid to write their stories. That’s how it’s done in HK.
Ahem! And you think that music and arts critics in other news media and arts/music blogs do so for free? Where have you been living that you believe that to be true?
So you agree! I guess you don’t want to deny what I’ve seen with my own experience over decades. Just because something happens someplace else doesn’t make it right. It’s a level of corruption that is accepted here that is just maddening. It’s wrong!
You just don’t give up, do you! Fair enough! We all have the right to present our views. The problem is that yours are all wrong! When did corruption come into this discussion? Are you daring to suggest that Peltokoski’s appointment – the subject of this thread – was due to corruption? What utter nonsense! If you believe that you will no doubt report it to Hong Kong’s widely regarded Independent Commission Against Corruption (the ICAC). But you won’t dare do that because there is not one grain of truth in what you write. Is there?
The pool of international conductors must be usually shallow…
FYI- Hong Kong is not a democratic commonwealth that it was before 1997 communist takeover. I would boycot any such artistic activities no matter how well paid these Communist jobs are.
And there it is: It isn’t British so it MUST suck. You’re not smart.
He conducted our orchestra (and many of my friends’ orchestras) and is by far the most disliked conductor. His technique is truly below average, and he is not an orchestral musician whatsoever. You feel it in 3 seconds. What is he doing on the podium? This is more the work of managers than anything else! RIP Hong Kong Phil.
Exactly. Leave it to the HK Phil’s Communist ruler to fill high-end jobs based on ‘Face’ value rather than artistic worth. Typical Chinese business practice. It’s all about “The Face”.
Yet again the rabid anti-communist stance of @zandonai masks actual facts. “The face” has nothing to do with what he terms “Chinese practice”. Indeed, the diaspora of Chinese business around the world has been hugely successful and has resulted in major contributions to the arts. Take Oscar Tang and his wife who have donated around US$300 million, largely to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (“the largest gift in its history”) and most recently $40 million to the New York Phil. Or Joseph Hotung whose contributions to the British Museum (called by the Museum “one of the most significant bequest’s in our history”) and American arts institutions have been humungous.
Plus no one apart from @zandonai talks about “THE face”. If he knew anything about Asia he’d be perfectly well aware that ‘face’ is and has been an important element historically of the daily life in many societies, certainly more so in Japan and Thailand than in China.
Frustration: the feeling of being annoyed or less confident because you cannot achieve what you want
Envy: the feeling that you wish you had something that someone else has
He looks like a 12 year old & conducts like one- from what I’ve seen. But hey ho- this is what has become of the classical music business- where age, wisdom & experience count for so little. Gl to the HK Phil in the process.
Hong Kong music and the arts generally is in a state of disaster. We are losing funding, losing future audiences, losing the sense of meaning. Every year it is worse. I have been here for decades and have never felt worse about what we’re experiencing. I am a professional conductor. I could do better work than this young man who is only slightly older than my students. Why are we trying to make Hong Kong “a laughing stock” on the international stage when we have previously been known for our greatness? How can we be the world’s greatest again? It’s completely maddening!
John Winzenburg is another whiner whose post makes no sense. Hong Kong has two professional symphony orchestras. The Philharmonic has its newly appointed Music Director. The Sinfonietta recently appointed its new Music Director. So what “professional” ensemble might Winzenburg be conducting, I wonder? None, I suspect. But then he talks about his students. So he is a teacher and obviously if he does conduct it will be student orchestras. Not having heard one, I cannot comment, but the two major professional orchestras are doing just fine.
As for funding, the government has been committing more funding to both in recent years. So who is “losing funding”? Perhaps Winzenburg’s salary has been cut. If so, poor guy, but it has virtually nothing to do with the arts in Hong Kong. As far as the Philharmonic is concerned, its already high government subsidy increased by more than 100% in the ten years prior to March 2020. How many orchestras anywhere else can match that sort of government increase? Somehow Winzenburg thinks this is “losing funding”. Rubbish!
And what is this nonsense about “greatness”? Am I mistaken that the Hong Kong Philharmonic was not actually awarded Gramophone magazine’s Orchestra of the Year accolade in 2019, the first Asian-based orchestra ever to receive the honour? What about the two new Art Museums which are world class and far better than what existed before?
If Winzenburg really has lived in Hong Kong for “decades”, perhaps he might explain what was so great about music and the arts in Hong Kong 30 years ago. He is talking nonsense!
Everything you’re talking about is pre-Covid and pre-NSL. These are things we can’t even talk about. Don’t forget what’s going on with West Kowloon. I won’t try to debate you. I’ve already made impact.
“I won’t try to debate you. I’ve already made impact.” Oh really? When almost all your posts have received quite a few down votes, it must be pretty obvious that your comments are indefensible and unbelievable. Hence no debate, I assume! As for having “already made an impact”? A negative one, certainly, with no bearing on facts!
..no, you are not!!!
I sense your anger and disillusionment. Maybe Hong Kong no longer suits you. You should seek a place that aligns with your dreams and establish your orchestra there.
It was always clear I would be in China. I speak Chinese. Does he? I’ve given everything to my work and I make impact. Does he? I’m only trying to warn him about what it takes to succeed here. Perhaps if he combines his HK work with something international. Or if he develops a clear research focus. Does he have any publications?
Impact? How many in Hong Kong now know of Peltokoski’s name? Hundreds of thousands if not millions. How many know of John Winzenburg’s name? A few hundred? Maybe a few thousand? And as for speaking Chinese, that has been well covered before in the posts above. It’s nonsense! There is absolutely no ndeed for it.
Get real! How many international conductors publish papers? Certainly they are much sought after around the world for interviews. They rarely pubish as academics do. Unfortunately you are completely stuck in your narrow educational mindset with little knowledge of the international music business. You may well be very good at what you do. It has nothing to do with the international music business! So stick to it!
His conducting reminds me of a scene in Fellini’s Amarcord, when a little boy sits next to a town prostitute and tries to feel her up and she turns to him and asks: “…are you looking for something, little boy?”
The Hong Kong Philharmonic has served under the reign of grumpy Dutchmen for over 2 decades. Enough is enough. Tarmo is a genuine musician with a pure and simple nature. The majority of our players supported him from the beginning. Please stop raining on my parade. The future of this world belongs to young people.