Pietari Inkinen

Finnish conductor Pietari Inkinen is widely recognised as one of the leading conductors of his generation, acclaimed for his ‘thinking on a grand scale’ and his combination of intellectual depth and technical mastery. Equally at home in the symphonic and operatic repertoires, he has established a distinguished international career and regularly collaborates with the world’s foremost orchestras and opera houses.

A commanding and imaginative presence on the podium, Inkinen has conducted the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra, among many others. In April 2025, he made a highly acclaimed debut at Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) with Die Walküre in a new production by Davide Livermore, receiving widespread critical praise. Highlights of the 2025/26 season include return visits to Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bergen Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony and the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.

The music of Richard Wagner occupies a central place in Inkinen’s artistic life, with Das Opernglas stating, ‘He might be remembered as one of the most inspired conductors who ever undertook the Ring in Bayreuth.’ In 2023, he led the new production of Der Ring des Nibelungen at the Bayreuth Festival, directed by Valentin Schwarz, following his earlier debut on the Green Hill in 2021, conducting Die Walküre in collaboration with one of the leading figures of the Viennese Actionism movement Hermann Nitsch. His long association with Wagner began with the Opera Australia Ring Cycles in 2013 and 2016, which earned him the Helpmann Award for Best Musical Direction (2014) and the Green Room Award for Best Opera Conductor (2016). His interpretation of Das Rheingold at Teatro Massimo Palermo in 2014 was honoured with the Franco Abbiati Prize of the Italian Association of Music Critics.

Beyond Wagner, Inkinen has conducted at major opera houses including the Finnish National Opera, Théâtre de la Monnaie, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Bavarian State Opera, and Semperoper Dresden, where his performance of Eugene Onegin was hailed for its lyricism and emotional breadth.

From 2017 to 2025, Pietari Inkinen served as Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbrücken Kaiserslautern, where he deepened the orchestra’s international profile through tours, recordings, and innovative programming. His previous posts include Chief Conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Chief Conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the KBS Symphony Orchestra in Seoul, and Chief Conductor of the Ludwigsburg Festival Orchestra. As Music Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, he recorded the complete Sibelius Symphonies for Naxos — performances praised for their clarity, precision, and Nordic atmosphere. A second Sibelius cycle, recorded live at Suntory Hall with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, further confirmed his authority in this repertoire.

Inkinen’s commitment to the symphonic canon is equally evident in his recent recording projects with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, including the complete symphony cycles by Dvořák and Prokofiev (SWRmusic/Naxos). His artistry and international career were the subject of the 2023 documentary Ein Taktstock und ein Reisepass – Pietari Inkinen, Dirigent, directed by Sven Rech.

Also an accomplished violinist, Pietari Inkinen studied with Zakhar Bron at the Cologne University of Music before pursuing conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. His dual musical background informs his distinctive approach to phrasing, colour, and structural balance — qualities that continue to define his interpretations on both the concert platform and in the opera house.