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Susanna Mälkki

Conductor
Chief Conductor Emeritus, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

  • Susanna Mälkki is a leading conductor of our time and sought-after at the highest level by symphony orchestras and opera houses worldwide. She is the Chief Conductor Emeritus of the Helsinki Philharmonic, where she served as Chief Conductor from 2016 to 2023. By invitation of Pierre Boulez, Mälkki served as Music Director of the Ensemble intercontemporain from 2006 to 2013. She was also Principal Guest Conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 2017 to 2022. From August 2025, she will assume the prestigious position of Professor of Orchestral Conducting at the Sibelius Academy.

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  • Praised for her theatrical instinct, clarity of vision, and ability to draw vivid drama from the score, Mälkki has made opera an increasingly prominent facet of her artistry. The 2025/26 season sees her return to Gran Teatre del Liceu for a new production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, marking Lise Davidsen’s role debut as Isolde, and to The Metropolitan Opera for Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence. Past acclaimed productions span the world’s most prestigious stages — Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, The Royal Opera House, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opéra national de Paris, and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence — with repertoire ranging from Mozart and Wagner to groundbreaking contemporary works.


    Her continued presence on the world’s foremost symphonic podiums remains equally distinguished. She has worked with the Berliner Philharmoniker, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Staatskapelle Berlin, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra. In the 2025/26 season, she appears with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Israel Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra.


    Recognised for her significant contribution to the art form, Mälkki was awarded the high honour of Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland in 2024, after receiving the Pro Finlandia Medal in 2011. She was appointed as Officier (2014) and Commandeur (2022) de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France and, in January 2016, was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur in France. She is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London and a member of the Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien in Stockholm. In October 2016, she was named Musical America’s 2017 Conductor of the Year, and in November 2017, she was awarded the Nordic Council Music Prize. In 2024, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Uniarts Helsinki.

    2025/26 season / 411 words. Not to be altered without permission.

Performances

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"There is no better conductor in classical music right now than Susanna Mälkki."

New York Classical Review

“Mälkki then transfers this calligraphically precise approach to his late „Lied von der Erde”, which appears more radically progressive than ever thanks to this fine drawing, as if with a silver pencil.“

NZZ

Intermusica represents Susanna Mälkki worldwide

Dennis Gerlach
Director, Berlin
+44 20 7608 9919
dgerlach@intermusica.com

Elsa Thiemar
Assistant Artist Manager
+49 (0) 152 15270748
ethiemar@intermusica.com

All artists

Contralto

Avery Amereau

Actor / Narrator

Amira Casar

Chansonnier

HK Gruber

Harpsichord

Richard Egarr

Piano accompanist

Roger Vignoles