Mikko Franck
Conductor Mikko Franck was a prodigy, leading orchestras across Scandinavia and beyond by his early twenties. He has been active in both orchestral music and opera, with a large repertory in the latter field.
Franck was born in Helsinki on April 1, 1979. He took up the violin at age five, entering the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki in 1992 and going on for further violin studies in Sweden, Israel, and the U.S. In 1995, he was allowed to conduct a Haydn symphony in a concert by the Academy's orchestra and took to conducting immediately. His talents were spotted by the famed conducting teacher Jorma Panula, who took him on as a student. By 1998, he was ready to begin an international career, and he soon earned his degree in conducting from the Academy. By the early 2000s, he had conducted major orchestras across Finland and elsewhere in Scandinavia, as well as the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the London Symphony, the Israel Philharmonic, and the Munich Philharmonic. In 2002, Franck was appointed music director and chief conductor of the Belgian National Orchestra, and that year he issued his debut recording on the Ondine label, featuring Sibelius' En Saga and Lemminkäinen Legends; the album received a Grammy nomination. Franck made several more recordings for Ondine. He remained in his position at the Belgian National Orchestra until 2007.
In 2006, Franck was appointed general music director of the Finnish National Opera. He offered his resignation six months later, claiming that a lack of confidence from the company's management, which responded by appointing him artistic director as well. Franck left the Finnish National Opera in 2013, moving in 2015 to the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France; he remained in that position as of the mid-2020s. Troubled by a youthful soccer injury, he was forced to cancel some concerts but remained in demand as a guest conductor, appearing with the New York Philharmonic, among other groups. Franck has recorded with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France for several labels, including RCA Red Seal, Sony Classical (the piano and cello concertos of Michel Legrand), and several times for Alpha, where his performances of Debussy's C'est L'extase and La Mer were released in 2023.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Discography
20 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Debussy: La Damoiselle élue, Le martyre de Saint Sébastien & Nocturnes
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Maîtrise de Radio France, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on Apr. 1, 2022
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14
Mikko Franck, Asmik Grigorian, Matthias Goerne
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on Oct. 20, 2023
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Paris (Chausson, Prokofiev, Rautavaara)
Hilary Hahn, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Mar. 5, 2021
Gramophone: Recording of the MonthAvailable in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Debussy: C'est l'extase - La mer
Vannina Santoni, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on Jun. 9, 2023
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
RAUTAVAARA, E: Symphonies Nos. 1-8 (Franck, Pommer, Segerstam)
Belgium National Orchestra, Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester Leipzig, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Mikko Franck, Max Pommer, Leif Segerstam
Classical - Released by Ondine on Jan. 1, 2009
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Ravel: L'enfant et les sortilèges - Debussy: L'enfant prodigue (Live)
Secular Vocal Music - Released by Erato - Warner Classics on Feb. 3, 2017
4F de TéléramaAvailable in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Strauss: Burleske, Serenade & Tod und Verklärung
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck, Nelson Goerner
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on May 28, 2021
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Franck by Franck
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on Apr. 10, 2020
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Rautavaara: Book of Visions, Symphony No. 1 & Adagio celeste
Orchestre National de Belgique, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Ondine on Jan. 1, 2005
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
RAUTAVAARA, E.: Book of Visions / Symphony No. 1 / Adagio celeste (Belgium National Orchestra, Franck)
Orchestre National de Belgique, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Ondine on Jan. 1, 2005
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps, Capriccio & Octuor
Mikko Franck, Nathalia Milstein, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on Sep. 9, 2022
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Paris
Hilary Hahn, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on Mar. 5, 2021
Gramophone: Recording of the MonthAvailable in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Ravel: L'enfant et les sortilèges - Debussy: L'enfant prodigue (Live)
Classical - Released by Erato - Warner Classics on Feb. 3, 2017
4F de TéléramaAvailable in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
SIBELIUS, J.: En Saga / Lemminkainen Suite (Swedish Radio Symphony, Franck)
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Ondine on May 1, 2000
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Apotheosis: The Best of Einojuhani Rautavaara
Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Stoltzman, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leif Segerstam, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Ondine on Oct. 4, 2011
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Opera Arias (Soprano): Isokoski, Soile - TCHAIKOVSKY, P.I. / BIZET, G. / GOUNOD, C. / PUCCINI, G. / VERDI, G. (Scene d'amore)
Soile Isokoski, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Mikko Franck
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Ondine on Jan. 1, 2008
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Wainwright: Dream Requiem: Sequentia V. Confutatis
Meryl Streep, Choeur de Radio France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Nov. 15, 2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Wainwright: Dream Requiem: Offertorium
Meryl Streep, Choeur de Radio France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Dec. 6, 2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Fernstrom: Symphony No. 6, Flute Concertino, Op. 52 & Den kapriciose trubaduren
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mikko Franck, Stefan Solyom
Classical - Released by Phono Suecia on May 1, 2011
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Rautavaara, E.: Auringon Talo (The House of the Sun) [Opera]
Opera - Released by Ondine on Jan. 1, 2003
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo