Tchaikovsky, Pyotr - Swan Lake - Rouvali, Santtu-Matias

During the 2019/20 season, Santtu-Matias Rouvali continued as chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra, where he will succeed Esa-Pekka Salonen as chief conductor in the 2021/22 season. In addition to these positions, he retains his long-standing role as chief conductor of the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra near his home town in Finland. His international profile continues to flourish. He will make his debut with the New York Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra with a wide-ranging repertoire. He conducted the New York premiere of Bryce Dessner's Wires, and at the Concertgebouw he conducted the world premiere of Theo Verbey's Ariadne and Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex. He has built up a loyal international fan base following last season's successful tour concerts with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra in Vienna, where he returned in December to conduct the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and Nicola Benedetti. In 2019/20, he returned to conduct several European orchestras, including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. The self-critical composer Tchaikovsky once said: "I listened to Delibes' ballet Sylvia... what charm, what elegance, what richness of melody, rhythm and harmony. I was ashamed, because if I had known about this music then, I would not have written Swan Lake."