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
15 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Debussy: C'est l'extase - La mer
Vannina Santoni, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 9 Jun 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Paris (Chausson, Prokofiev, Rautavaara)
Hilary Hahn, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 5 Mar 2021
Gramophone: Recording of the Month24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 14
Mikko Franck, Asmik Grigorian, Matthias Goerne
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 20 Oct 2023
24-Bit 48.0 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 24 Feb 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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 1 Apr 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: L'enfant et les sortilèges - Debussy: L'enfant prodigue (Live)
Secular Vocal Music - Released by Erato - Warner Classics on 3 Feb 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Franck by Franck
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 10 Apr 2020
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps, Capriccio & Octuor
Mikko Franck, Nathalia Milstein, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 9 Sep 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
SIBELIUS, J.: En Saga / Lemminkainen Suite (Swedish Radio Symphony, Franck)
Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Ondine on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Burleske, Serenade & Tod und Verklärung
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck, Nelson Goerner
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 28 May 2021
24-Bit 48.0 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 4 Oct 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Paris
Hilary Hahn, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Mikko Franck
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 5 Mar 2021
Gramophone: Recording of the Month16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 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 1 Jan 2005
24-Bit 96.0 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 1 Jan 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ravel: L'enfant et les sortilèges - Debussy: L'enfant prodigue (Live)
Classical - Released by Erato - Warner Classics on 3 Feb 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo