Robert Kajanus

Robert Kajanus was among the handful of Finnish conductors to achieve a worldwide reputation in the early 20th century. In doing so, he also preserved authoritative performances of the work of his countryman Jean Sibelius for posterity. Kajanus studied at the Helsinki Conservatory, and later at Leipzig with Hans Richter. He worked in Dresden in the years immediately after his graduation, and returned to Helsinki in 1882. He founded the Helsinki Philharmonic Society, the first permanent orchestra in Finland, and brought the orchestra to a very high performance standard very q...