Tarmo Peltokoski

“A talent of a century.” – Tagesspiegel

“Disconcerting, breathtaking, tearjerkingly beautiful… the most beautiful concert of the year was played in Rotterdam. Tarmo Peltokoski. Write that name down.” – NRC Rotterdam 

“The Finnish conducting miracle.” – Tagesspiegel

“Watch out – here comes a genius!” – Diapason Magazine

Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski will become Music Director of the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in the 2026/27 season following his tenure as Music Director Designate in 2025/26. He currently serves as Music and Artistic Director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest, and the first-ever Principal Guest Conductor of The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, a position he has held since 2022. In December 2022, Peltokoski was announced as Music Director of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, a position he will start in the 2025/26 season.

Tarmo Peltokoski conducted his first full Ring Cycle at age 22 at the Eurajoki Bel Canto Festival. He returned in 2023 for Tristan und Isolde. Upcoming Wagner opera productions include Parsifal (Riga, 2025), Tristan und Isolde(Dutch National Opera, February 2026), and his debut at Deutsche Oper Berlin with Parsifal (April 2026). The 2025/26 season also includes Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse and Die Zauberflöte with The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen in performances at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Bremen and Enescu Festival in Bucharest.

In the 2024/25 season, he made debut appearances with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bayerisches Staatsorchester, and NHK Symphony Orchestra, and toured Germany with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. Other recent engagements include the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, and the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. 

Tarmo Peltokoski regularly appears at prestigious festivals such as Rheingau Musik Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Verbier Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, Musikfest Bremen, and the Festival de Música y Danza de Granada.

In August 2024, he conducted Wagner’s Götterdämmerung in Riga, followed by his BBC Proms debut at the Royal Albert Hall in September 2024 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Later that season, he appeared with the Filarmonica della Scala, Philharmonia Zürich and conducted Wagner’s Fliegender Holländer in Luxembourg and Brussels.

Peltokoski has collaborated with many of the world’s foremost soloists, including Yuja Wang, Asmik Grigorian, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Janine Jansen, Daniel Lozakovich, Camilla Nylund and Sol Gabetta.

He began conducting at the age of 14 under the guidance of Jorma Panula, and later studied with Sakari Oramo at the Sibelius Academy. His mentors include Hannu Lintu, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. As a pianist, he studied with Antti Hotti, performing widely across Finland and winning numerous national competitions.

In October 2023, Peltokoski signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. His debut album of Mozart symphonies with The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen was released in May 2024, received critical acclaim. He is a 2023 OPUS Klassik winner.

Tarmo Peltokoski has also studied composing and arranging, and especially enjoys music comedy and improvisation.