Susanna Mälkki

Born March 13th, 1969, Susanna Mälkki is an internationally renowned Finnish conductor and cellist famed as the first woman to conduct a production at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala. Formally Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic (2016 to 2023) and Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic (2017 to 2022), Mälkki remains highly sought-after on the world’s leading symphonic and operatic platforms.

Although she also learned piano and violin as a youngster, Mälkki’s decision to focus her studies on cello paid dividends when she was awarded first prize in the Turku National Cello Competition in 1994. She subsequently toured as a soloist and chamber musician, and served as Principal Cellist with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra from 1995 to 1998 before leaving the post to concentrate her career on conducting.

Like many of her compatriots, Mälkki studied at the Sibelius Academy under Jorma Panula, Eri Klas and Leif Segerstam. She was Chief Conductor and Artistic Leader of Norway’s Stavanger Symphony Orchestra from 2002 to 2005, and Music Director of the Ensemble InterContemporain in Paris from 2006 to 2013, with whom she conducted world premieres of many contemporary works.

In September 2014, Mälkki was named as the next Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, effective from autumn 2016. The first female to be appointed to the role, Mälkki’s initial three year contract was extended multiple times before she stepped down at the end of the 2022 - 2023 season, subsequently assuming the title Chief Conductor Emeritus.

Mälkki also served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 2017 to 2022 and continues to work with leading orchestras across Europe and North America including the London, New York and San Francisco Philharmonics and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Honoured with multiple awards including the Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland in 2011, and with a string of firsts to her name, Susanna Mälkki remains a pioneering presence in the world of conducting.