Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra

Today, its primary concert venue is the Helsinki Music Centre; the current chief conductor is Jukka-Pekka Saraste, who has held his post since the start of the 2023–24 season..

[1] Kajanus, who took no salary in the first year, conducted the Orchestral Association in its inaugural concert, on 3 October 1882;[2] the program included, among other pieces, Beethoven's Symphony No.

[b][4] In the summer of 1894, the Orchestral Association—worried that its name implied amateurism—renamed itself the Helsinki Philharmonic Society (in Finnish: Helsingin Filharmoninen Seura; in Swedish: Helsingfors Filharmoniska Sällskap); at the same meeting, it changed its rules to allow female students to enroll in the orchestra's music school, although de facto discrimination continued.

A bitter "feud" between the two competing organizations ensued: with 150,000 residents, Helsinki could not sustain rival orchestras, especially with the Swedish-speaking patrons supporting Schnéevoigt and the Finnish-speakers backing Kajanus.

[12][13] In September 2014, the orchestra announced the appointment of Susanna Mälkki as its next chief conductor, effective with the 2016–2017 season, with an initial contract of 3 years.