Susanna Mälkki

Susanna Mälkki is a leading conductor of our time, sought after at the highest level by symphony orchestras and opera houses worldwide. She is chief conductor emeritus of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, 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 of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 2017 to 2022. In August 2025, she assumed the prestigious position of professor of orchestral conducting at the Sibelius Academy.

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 saw 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, including the 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 many of the world's leading orchestras, among them the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra. In the 2025-26 season, she appeared with the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Bamberger Symphoniker, the Israel Philharmonic, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.

Recognized for her significant contribution to the art form, Mälkki was awarded the high honor of Commander of the Order of the Lion of Finland in 2024, after receiving the Pro Finlandia Medal in 2011. She was appointed Officier (2014) and Commandeur (2022) de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and, in January 2016, was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur. 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 Uniarts Helsinki.