Pietari Inkinen, now working internationally with major orchestras, was appointed Music Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 2008. He has won unanimous praise from audiences and critics for his performances and for his recordings with the orchestra, and in November 2010 he will lead the Orchestra on a major tour of European cities including Vienna, Lucerne, Geneva, Frankfurt and Hamburg with Hilary Hahn.
Pietari Inkinen has also been Principal Guest Conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra since September 2009. As guest conductor, he has already worked with orchestras including Dresden Staatskapelle, Deutsche Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Bavarian Radio Orchestra, WDR Cologne, Maggio Musicale, La Scala, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic, BBC Symphony and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Pietari Inkinen enjoys successful collaborations with soloists such as Vadim Repin, Hilary Hahn, Pinchas Zukerman, Nikolaj Znaider, Jean Yves Thibaudet, Alexander Toradze and Elisabeth Leonskaya.
He has conducted three productions at the Finnish National Opera, made a very successful debut at La Monnaie in Brussels, conducting the Rite of Spring with the Pina Bausch Dance Company, after which he was immediately re-invited. His recordings have been greeted with critical acclaim.
Pietari Inkinen is also an accomplished violinist and studied at the Cologne Music Academy with Zakhar Bron. He has appeared as soloist with many of the leading Finnish Orchestras, including the Finnish Radio Symphony and the Helsinki Philharmonic, and has played with and directed orchestras including Teatro Carlo Felice Genova, RAI Torino, NorrkúÌping Symphony and Orchestre National de Lyon.
This is his first appearance with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.