Photo: Sinihappo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regional
Jorma Panula
Person · male · Finland · Kauhajoki · born 1930 · recording since 1979
Finnish conductor and composer
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Also known as Jorma Juhani Panula · 约尔马·帕努拉
Timeline
12 events▣ Album 8✦ Award 2◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1
1930s
1970s
· Debut release
Debut release: Kalevala Suite, op. 23 / Fantaisie Tschérémisse, op. 19
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
1980s
1990s
· Album
Album: Kalevala Suite / Sea Pictures / Lemminkäinen's Adventures of the Island of Saari
Album
source: musicbrainz
2000s
Biography
English biography443 words · 2 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1376323957
Biography
Jorma Juhani Panula (born 10 August 1930) is a Finnish conductor, composer, and teacher of conducting. He has mentored many Finnish conductors, such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mikko Franck, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Osmo Vänskä, Klaus Mäkelä and Tarmo Peltokoski.
Career
Panula was born in Kauhajoki, Finland, the son of violinist Elis Matias Panula and his wife Elsa (Huhtinen) Panula. He studied church music and conducting at the Sibelius Academy. His teachers included Leo Funtek, Dean Dixon, Albert Wolff and Franco Ferrara. Apart from conducting, he has composed a wide variety of music. His operas Jaakko Ilkka and the River Opera established a new genre called "performance opera", which fused music, visual art and the art of daily life. Panula's other compositions include musicals, church music, a violin concerto, jazz capriccio and numerous pieces of vocal music.
Panula was the artistic director and chief conductor of the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra from 1963 to 1965, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra from 1965 to 1972 and the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra from 1973 to 1976. He has also conducted his own opera Jaakko Ilkka at the Finnish National Opera.
Panula has served as Professor of Conducting at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki from 1973 to 1994 and at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen. As a pedagogue, Panula has been a teacher and mentor to many Finnish and other conductors, including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mikko Franck, Sakari Oramo, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Osmo Vänskä, Dalia Stasevska, Ricardo Chiavetta, Denis Mastromonaco, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, Klaus Mäkelä and Tarmo Peltokoski.
Panula has taught conducting courses all over the world, including in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Moscow, New York, Tanglewood, Aspen, Ottawa and Sydney. He was listed as one of the "60 most powerful people in music" featured in the November 2000 issue of BBC Music Magazine. Panula was awarded the Rolf Schock Prize in 1997. He conducted the Helsinki City Symphony Orchestra in the première in December 1971 of the first symphony by Aulis Sallinen.
In March 2014, Panula caused controversy in a Finnish television interview with remarks that denigrated the ability of women to conduct particular composers, and that women were suited to conducting music that was "feminine enough", such as Debussy, but that they were unsuited for conducting Bruckner. He stated that "women [conductors]… Of course they are trying! Some of them are making faces, sweating and fussing, but it is not getting any better – only worse!... It's not a problem – if they choose the right pieces. If they take more feminine music... This is a purely biological question." Other conductors, such as his former student Salonen, responded critically to Panula's remarks.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 17 | 76.4th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 8 | 81.1th |
| Studio albums | 8 | 88.9th |
| Awards recorded | 3 | 95.4th |
| Timeline events | 12 | 88.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 28 | 62th |
| Genres | 5 | 88.3th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (8 release groups · 8 studio albums)
Albums · 8
Kalevala Suite, op. 23 / Fantaisie Tschérémisse, op. 19
1979 · studio album
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Tracklist · 5 tracks · 41:31
A1Kalevala Suite, op. 23: The Creation of the Earth - The Sprout of Spring12:03A2Kalevala Suite, op. 23: Terhenniemi6:18B1Kalevala Suite, op. 23: Cradle Song for Lemminkäinen4:46B2Kalevala Suite, op. 23: Forging of the Sampo6:54B3Fantaisie Tschérémisse, op. 1911:301992 · studio album
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Tracklist · 25 tracks · 1:01:03
1Maamme1:522Suomalainen rukous2:183Lippulaulu1:524Soi kunniaksi Luojan2:465Nälkämaan laulu3:066Suojelusenkeli2:017Kansalaislaulu1:488Kotimaani ompi Suomi2:039Suomen salossa2:0310Tuule, tuuli, leppeämmin3:5311Jo Karjalan kunnailla2:2212Minun kultani kaunis on1:5013Lemminkäisen äiti1:5514Soittajapaimen1:3815Lampaanpolska3:2816Metsän laulajaiset1:5517Taivas on sininen ja valkoinen2:1218Täällä Pohjantähden alla1:5319Arvon mekin ansaitsemme3:4220Minä olen Härmän Kankaanpäästä2:1221Takapihan Gibraltar2:4122Orvon huokaus2:4923Kilpisjärven mahtava Saana3:3324Kesäpäivä Kangasalla3:0225Finlandia-hymni2:091994 · studio album
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Tracklist · 16 tracks · 57:07
1Maria, Herran piikanen1:552Joulukranssi kuudella kielellä9:043God Rest You Merry Gentlemen1:534O Holy Night / Oi, jouluyö3:485The Joy of Giving2:596Kulkuset fantasia / Fantasy on Jingle Bells4:417Tonttujen joulukuusi8:218Nigra sum4:149Noël des enfants qui n’ont plus de maisons2:4910Kuului laulu enkelten2:1811Go, Tell It on the Mountain1:0412Joudu, satakiel’3:2713Katso, ihme taivainen1:2514En etsi valtaa, loistoa3:2915Maa on niin kaunis3:4916Jouluna Jumala syntyi1:51Suomalaisia klassisia suosikkisävelmiä
1995 · studio album
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Tracklist · 19 tracks · 1:10:41
1Finlandia, op. 268:202Elegia (Sinfonisesta sarjasta, op. 4)5:083Romanssi4:404Valse Lente3:005Valse triste, op. 44/14:416Akselin ja Elinan häävalssi3:217Preludi, op. 7Valse triste, op. 44/13:488Pelimannit, op. 1: Närböläisten braa speli1:569Pelimannit, op. 1: Kopsin Jonas1:5310Pelimannit, op. 1: Klockar Samuel Dikström1:1411Pelimannit, op. 1: Pirun polska1:4212Pelimannit, op. 1: Hypyt1:0613Häämarssi, op. 3 no. 24:0214Juhlamarssi (Näytelmästä Prinsessa Ruusunen, op. 22)4:4615Tuonelan Joutsen (Lemmikäinen-sarjasta, op. 22)8:4216Preludi orkesterille2:4817Berceuse (Kehtolaulu)3:0618Andante festivo3:4519Suomalainen rukous2:43Kalevala Suite / Sea Pictures / Lemminkäinen's Adventures of the Island of Saari
1998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks · 1:11:05
1Suomenlinna Overture, op. 3011:012Kalevala Suite, op. 23: I. The Creation of the Earth6:413Kalevala Suite, op. 23: II. The Sprout of Spring4:334Kalevala Suite, op. 23: III.Terhenniemi6:295Kalevala Suite, op. 23: IV. Cradle Song for Lemminkainen4:176Kalevala Suite, op. 23: V. The Forging of the Sampo7:007Lemminkäinen's Adventures of the Island of Saari10:448Sea Pictures: I. A Foggy Morning2:459Sea Pictures: II. Captain Scrapuchinat2:3610Sea Pictures: III. The Deserted Three-Master4:3011Sea Pictures: IV. Nocturne (Song of the Watch)2:5612Sea Pictures: V: Scene de Ballet1:2713Sea Pictures: VI. 3 Bf6:062001 · studio album
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Tracklist · 19 tracks · 1:08:01
1Finlandia, op. 268:202Elegy, op. 62 no. 15:083Romance, op 124:404Valse lente (arr. orchestra Jorma Panula)3:005Valse Triste, op. 44 no. 14:416Here Beneath the North Star: Wedding Waltz of Akseli and Elina3:217Prelude in G flat major, op. 73:488The Fiddlers, op. 1: I. Närböläisten braa speli1:569The Fiddlers, op. 1: II. Kospin Jonas1:5310The Fiddlers, op. 1: III. Klockar Samuel Dikström1:1411The Fiddlers, op. 1: IV. Pirun polska1:4212The Fiddlers, op. 1: V. Hypyt1:0613Wedding March, op. 3. no. 24:0214Festive March, op. 3b no. 24:4615Sunrise Serenade, op. 636:4516Prelude for Orchestra2:4817Berceuse for Orchestra3:0718Sea Pictures: Nocturne2:5919Finnish Prayer (arr. orchestra Jorma Panula)2:452003 · studio album
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Tracklist · 16 tracks · 51:05
1Five Songs: No. 1. Die stille Stadt2:512Five Songs: No. 2. In meines Vaters Garten5:303Five Songs: No. 3. Laue Sommernacht2:124Five Songs: No. 4. Bei dir ist es traut1:435Five Songs: No. 5. Ich wandle unter Blumen0:596Four Songs: No. 1. Licht in der Nacht3:117Four Songs: No. 2. Waldseligkeit1:508Four Songs: No. 3. Ansturm1:409Four Songs: No. 4. Erntelied4:0110Five Songs: No. 1. Hymne5:3911Five Songs: No. 2. Ekstase2:3712Five Songs: No. 3. Der Erkennende2:5513Five Songs: No. 4. Lobgesang3:1614Five Songs: No. 5. Hymne an die Nacht3:3615Leise weht ein erstes Bluhn3:4616Kennst du meine Nächte?5:19Suomalaisia klassisia suosikkisävelmiä 2
2007 · studio album
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Tracklist · 18 tracks · 53:33
1Häätanhu2:562Elegia2:323Kansanlaulu1:524Vuorenpeikkojen iltasoitto1:535Kurkikohtaus4:376Lampaanpolska5:057Konstan parempi valssi2:268Aamulla varhain2:249Sydämeni laulu2:1610Suomen laulu1:2411Orvon huokaus2:5112Perhosvalssi2:0213Kesäillan idylli1:2114Impromptu5:3215Eteläpohjalainen kansanlaulu3:1816Berceuse4:1217Illusion2:3318Elegie4:19
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Jorma Panula head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 17 | 76.4th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 8 | 81.1th |
| Studio albums | 8 | 88.9th |
| Awards recorded | 3 | 95.4th |
| Timeline events | 12 | 88.9th |
| Recording span (years) | 28 | 62th |
| Genres | 5 | 88.3th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Pro Finlandia Medal of the Order of the Lion of Finland | won | |
| 1997 | Rolf Schock Prize in Musical Arts | won | |
| — | Finnish State Prize for Music | won |
Line-up
| Name | From | To | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roikkatrio(band) | — | present | violin |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jorma-Panula.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/05d462ef-9ee6-4575-8bb3-8595cce62747discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/05d462ef-9ee6-4575-8bb3-8595cce62747core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q718059genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q718059seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorma_Panulabiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jorma_Panula
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Sinihappo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q718059 · MusicBrainz: 05d462ef-9ee6-4575-8bb3-8595cce62747
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