When they came to Britain, Oramo was chosen as Simon Rattle's Birmingham successor on the strength of a single concert, an acclamation repeated recently at the BBC. Behind a deceptively mild exterior, he seems to know exactly what sound he wants and how to get it. BBC musicians were positively hopping with energy and anticipation the day his appointment was announced.

Not all the Finns have done equally well. Jukka-Pekka Saraste made little impact in London while Vänskää, refreshing in Scotland, was a tad bucolic for metropolitan tastes (he's now in Minnesota). 

With one or two exceptions, Finnish conductors operate a mutual admiration society. Salonen tweeted a loud cheer for Oramo's appointment, and Oramo ushered Lintu into his previous job at Finnish radio. Such kindnesses are uncommon among maestros. Five share the same agency.

Most are domestic creatures. Salonen married a Philharmonia player, Oramo a Finnish singer. All spend nightless summers beside the lakes. Over time, they have changed the public perception of their profession from swaggering ego to gleaming technocrat. They are cordial yet culturally enigmatic, at once approachable and linguistically remote. The Finns have their fingers on our musical future.