The orchestra is like a child, says Oramo, that needs encouraging and controlling simultaneously. Every orchestra has a character of its own, but the national differences have in recent years got smaller and smaller. The time has gone when orchestras set out to create a recognisable 'Philadelphia' sound. All they want nowadays is to create the sounds characteristic of their composers. While conducting the Berlin Radio Orchestra, Oramo found that German musicians expect far more detailed instructions and discipline than Finnish ones.
Chamber music is the foundation of good orchestral playing.
The Finnish orchestras go in for more sectional interaction than, say, the British ones, where each one simply tends its own plot. Their whole training there is designed to produce a good sound, so while the sound is certainly homogeneous, it is not necessarily very distinct. I want my orchestra to engage in a constant makeover game in which the sections try to imitate one another, given the right situation. This is one idea I want to launch in Birmingham. Sakari Oramo has found it all depends on surprising little things like the way the conductor stands and the way he varies his beat.