Lintu has conducted regularly with the Gulbenkian during the last years in dozens of concerts. This season the conductor has already had concerts that have included the Thomas Ades Concerto and a Mahler song cycle. He is set to conduct an all-Shostakovich program.

In a statement, Risto Nieminen, director of the Gulbenkian said the “conductor has established a relationship of great complicity with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, since its debut at the Grand Auditorium of the Foundation in March 2016. The Orchestra’s performances under the baton of Hannu Lintu have reached great splendor, for I am sure that this hiring will start a new exciting, and promising cycle”.

For his part, Lintu said, “I have worked and performed with the Gulbenkian Orchestra for several years and each concert has been an immense joy. The atmosphere and concentration are admirable and the music produced is always satisfying. The Grand Auditorium and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation as a whole offer a unique and inspiring context for music and art. I look forward to many seasons filled with great moments with the wonderful Gulbenkian Choir and Orchestra.”