About this Artist

One of Europe’s most distinguished musicians, the Finnish conductor PAAVO BERGLUND has won his reputation on the podiums of numerous major orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and the Israel Philharmonic. He held the post of Principal Conductor of the Royal Danish Orchestra in Copenhagen from 1992-1997.

From 1962 to 1970, after serving his apprenticeship as a violinist in several ensembles in his country, Berglund held the post of Principal Conductor with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In England, where he was Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra from 1972-1979, he has gone on to frequent engagements with such ensembles as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. From 1987 to 1991, he was Principal Conductor of the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra.

Berglund made his North American debut in 1978, leading the American Symphony Orchestra in New York City. Since then, he has conducted many important North American ensembles, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the San Francisco, Saint Louis, Dallas, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Toronto symphony orchestras, the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic (1986), the National Symphony. and the Minnesota Orchestra.

Paavo Berglund recently recorded the complete Sibelius symphonies for Finlandia with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He has previously recorded the complete cycle for EMI with the Helsinki Philharmonic and all of the Nielsen Symphonies for BMG/RCA Victor Red Seal with the Royal Danish Orchestra. Among the many honors his recordings have received is a Grammy award nomination for his EMI recording of Sibelius’ Kullervo Symphony. His highly esteemed discography also includes major symphonic works of Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, Smetana, and Tchaikovsky, among others.

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