‘Santtu conducts Stravinsky’ is the third album from Philharmonia Records featuring two incredible works by Igor Stravinsky conducted by Principal Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, these two works were recorded at Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall in 2023.

The Fourth is Sibelius's most difficult symphony. For some, it is his masterpiece. When the symphony was premiered on 3 April 1911 in Helsinki, one critic compared it to Barkbröd - tree bark eaten by the Finns in times of famine! It is fittingly a Finn, conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, who explores this symphony that lays bare our emotions. With his Göteborg Symphony Orchestra, he continues his cycle of the complete Sibelius symphonies, with the addition of the famous Valse Triste and the symphonic poem inspired by Swedish folklore called The Wood Nymph.

The Fourth is Sibelius's most difficult symphony. For some, it is his masterpiece. When the symphony was premiered on 3 April 1911 in Helsinki, one critic compared it to Barkbröd - tree bark eaten by the Finns in times of famine! It is fittingly a Finn, conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, who explores this symphony that lays bare our emotions. With his Göteborg Symphony Orchestra, he continues his cycle of the complete Sibelius symphonies, with the addition of the famous Valse Triste and the symphonic poem inspired by Swedish folklore called The Wood Nymph.

Mahler 2 is the second album from Philharmonia Records, following their first album - Santtu conducts Strauss.

Santtu conducts Strauss is a double-deluxe album with four works by Richard Strauss conducted by Principal Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, two of which are live recordings of Santtu’s 2021/22 opening concert and first concert as Principal Conductor at Royal Festival Hall. Eine Alpensinfonie and Also sprach Zarathustra are live recordings of Santtu’s opening concert of the 2021/22 season, and his first concert with the Philharmo- nia as Principal Conductor.”

After the phenomenal critical success of the first two volumes of the complete Sibelius symphonies (Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Diapason d’Or, FFFF Télérama etc. ), the Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra introduce us to the ‘green’ side of Sibelius who, suffering from health problems and financial worries, moved to the shores of Lake Tuusula just before writing his Third Symphony. His output was powerfully inspired by nature. In April 1915, when the world was in chaos, he wrote in his diary of the appearance of sixteen swans over the lake and noted down their cry, which inspired the great horn theme of the Fifth Symphony’s finale.

Following an acclaimed debut recording of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake with the Philharmonia in 2020, Santtu-Matias Rouvali returns with a recording of Sergei Prokofiev’s iconic Symphony No. 5. Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 5 was first performed in 1944, 14 years after his previous symphony. Prokofiev described his Fifth Symphony as a “hymn to free and happy Man, to his mighty powers, his pure and noble spirit,” explaining that, “I cannot say that I deliberately chose this theme. It was born in me and clamoured for expression. The music matured within me. It filled my soul.”

After the resounding success of Volume 1 (Gramophone Editor’s Choice, Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik, Diapason d’Or, Choc de Classica, FFFF Télérama), the project to record the complete Sibelius symphonies continues with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Santtu-Matias Rouvali, whose career as a conductor is entering top gear: he has just been appointed Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London. At the turn of the twentieth century, as Finland struggled to free itself from Russian rule, Sibelius and his wife faced several domestic dramas, including the loss of one of their daughters, Kirsti, to typhoid fever.

Santtu-Matias Rouvali is rapidly proving to be one of the most exciting conductors of his generation. Kudos, then, to Philharmonia Orchestra, which snapped him up to be its principal conductor from the 2021/22 season. This live recording with the Philharmonia of Prokofiev’s greatest symphony delivers on the promise shown. This is one of Prokofiev’s most vivid scores—from the intense, epic first movement to its satirical, fiery scherzo and a poignant slow movement that ranks among the composer’s most beautiful. Rouvali’s control of the orchestra is breathtaking—every orchestral line exquisitely crafted, every change of mood deftly navigated. And it’s all captured in vivid, vibrant recorded sound.

In the 2019/20 season Santtu-Matias Rouvali continued as Chief Conductor of Gothenburg Symphony and as Principal Conductor Designate of the Philharmonia Orchestra, where he succeeds Esa-Pekka Salonen as Principal Conductor in 2021/22. Alongside these posts he retains his longstanding position as Chief Conductor with Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, close to his home in Finland. His international profile continues to flourish.

Alpha begins a complete cycle of the symphonies by Sibelius (and of his symphonic poems) with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and its new musical director, Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali.Originally a percussionist, the 33-year-old trained at the famous Sibelius Academy. His career took off after he stepped in at the last minute to conduct the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra. In the great tradition of Finnish conductors,Santtu-Matias Rouvali is known for his extremely physical and organic interpretations: Music unmistakeably flows from him, commented The Sunday Times.