Ulf Söderblom

Ulf Arne Söderblom (5 February 1930 – 4 February 2016) was a Finnish conductor and music professor. He was the principal conductor of the Finnish National Opera from 1973 to 1993 and was a key figure in the revival of the Savonlinna Opera Festival. A champion of Finnish music, he has conducted the world premieres of several works by Finnish composers including Kokkonen's The Last Temptations and Sallinen's Kullervo and The Horseman.

Life and career Söderblom was born in Turku, the son of Arne Paulinus Soderblom and Gerda Mathilda Rajalin. He studied at the Åbo Akademi University in Turku with Otto Andersson from 1950 to 1952 and at the Vienna Music Academy with Hans Swarowsky from 1954 to 1957. He made his conducting debut in 1957 conducting a production of The Magic Flute in Turku. That same year he married physiotherapist Karin Helena Ehrnrooth. The Last Temptations by Joonas Kokkonen, Helsinki, 2 September 1975

In addition to the above staged performances, Söderblom also conducted the world premiere recording of Aarre Merikanto's Juha in 1972.