In September 2017 Pietari Inkinen became Chief Conductor of the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie Saarbruecken. Inkinen is also Chief Conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, a post he has held since the beginning of the 16-17 season. He has also been Chief Conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra since 2015.

In January 2019 Inkinen led the Prague Symphony on a three-week tour across Japan and in April 2019 the Japan Philharmonic toured Finland, Germany, Austria and the UK, with stops in Helsinki and his hometown of Kouvola celebrating the centenary of the relationship between Japan and Finland. In November 2019 he will tour the UK with the Prague Symphony, performing Mahler´s Third Symphony in some of the country´s most significant venues.

From 2008 to 2016 Pietari was Music Director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra where he now holds the title of Honorary Conductor. During his tenure, the orchestra rose to new levels with a highly acclaimed European tour, as well as the recording of a complete cycle of Sibelius Symphonies for Naxos. This, and other recordings for Naxos, including the premiere recording of Rautavaara´s Manhattan Trilogy and a further live Sibelius Cycle recorded with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in Suntory Hall, have been widely acclaimed. Inkinen also held the title of Chief Conductor of the Ludwigsburg Schlossfestspiele from 2014 to 2019.