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

In season 2025/26 Finnish conductor Tarmo Peltokoski will start his tenure as Music Director of the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse after already serving as Music Director Designate in season 2024/25. He was awarded the title Principal Guest Conductor of The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen in January 2022, the first conductor to hold this position in the orchestra’s history. In May 2022, Peltokoski was named Music and Artistic Director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. He started his term in the 2022/23 season and after three years he became conductor laureate. He was subsequently named Principal Guest Conductor of the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest. Peltokoski will become the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra’s Music Director beginning in the 2026/27 season, after serving as Music Director Designate in 2025/26.  Furthermore, Tarmo Peltokoski begins his 3-year residency as “Exklusivkünstler” at Konzerthaus Dortmund in season 2025/26. 
 
In recent seasons he made debuts with Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, Toronto Symphony, NHK Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra and Göteborgs Symfoniker as well as SWR Symphonieorchester at Pfingstfestspiele Baden-Baden, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Bayerisches Staatsorchester.
 
Summer festival debuts include Rheingau Musik Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Beethovenfest Bonn, the Verbier Festival, Musikfest Bremen and Festival de Música y Danza Granada. In August 2022 at the age of 22, he completed his first Wagner Ring cycle at the Eurajoki Bel Canto Festival. Tarmo Peltokoski returned to Eurajoki Bel Canto Festival to conduct Tristan und Isolde in April 2023. In summer 2023 he conducted Siegfried with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and Don Giovanni at the Finnish National Opera in October 2023. 
 
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 as well as Parsifal in Riga. 
 
Highlights of season 2025/26 will be the upcoming Wagner opera productions of Tristan und Isolde (Dutch National Opera, February 2026), and his debut at Deutsche Oper Berlin with Parsifal (April 2026). The season also includes Die Zauberflöte with The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen in performances at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Bremen and Enescu Festival in Bucharest. 
 
He has worked with soloists including Yuja Wang, Asmik Grigorian, Matthias Goerne, Julia Fischer, Golda Schultz, Martin Fröst, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Janine Jansen, Martin Helmchen, Leonidas Kavakos, Camilla Nylund and Sol Gabetta. 
 
Tarmo Peltokoski began his studies with professor emeritus Jorma Panula at the age of 14 and studied with Sakari Oramo at the Sibelius Academy. He has also been taught by Hannu Lintu, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Also an acclaimed pianist, he studied piano at the Sibelius Academy with Antti Hotti. His piano playing has been awarded at many competitions and he has appeared as a soloist with all major Finnish orchestras.

In October 2023 Tarmo Peltokoski signed an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon. His debut album was released in May 2024. In March 2026, he released a new recording of The Ring: An Orchestral Adventure with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra.
 
In 2022 he received the Lotto Prize at Rheingau Musik Festival and in 2023 he received the OPUS Klassik for his recording with The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. In addition Tarmo Peltokoski has also studied composing and arranging, and especially enjoys music comedy and improvisation.