The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra became particularly associated with the works of Sibelius, many of whose compositions were first performed by the orchestra under the composer's direction.

Since 1971 the Helsinki Philharmonic has been resident at Finlandia Hall, its 1,700 seat home designed by Alvar Aalto. In addition to its appearances there, the orchestra is regularly invited to tour abroad.In 1982, it was the first Nordic orchestra to visit Japan where itplayed all of the Sibelius symphonies and gave concerts in fifteen cities.

The Helsinki Philharmonic first appeared in London in 1934, and fifty years later, made its first full tour in the United Kingdom under thedirection of Paavo Berglund. During that tour the Helsinki Philharmonic recorded all the Sibelius symphonies with Berglund for EMI.

In recent years the Helsinki Philharmonic has been well received around the world. In 1986 a third visit to the USA culminated in a memorable concert hosted by the United Nations in New York. Further tours to Japan, United Kingdom and Central Europe (Salzburg and Wien) were also well received. In the autumn of 1994 the HPO and Okko Kamu were again invited to Wien to perform at the 5th Jeunesse-Festival under the theme"Jean Sibelius and the European North". In November 1995 the HPO made its 5th concert tour to the United Kingdom and in September 1996 the orchestra will tour Japan for four weeks.

As of the autumn season 1996 Leif Segerstam, one of the internationallymost renowned of all Finnish conductors, has been appointed as Chief Conductor of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also Chief Conductor of the Royal Opera of Stockholm, Sweden.

Today the HPO records regularly for ONDINE, a domestic company, mostly music by Finnish composers Einojuhani Rautavaara and Aulis Sallinen.