Although the appointment has yet to be made official, Salonen confirmed it to the daily Helsingin Sanomat after a report in Britain's The Guardian on Friday.
The Philharmonia is considered the most progressive of London's five major orchestras, and often contrasted with the conservative London Philharmonic. In Los Angeles, Salonen has earned accolades for his vigorous championing of music from the 20th century.
In London, the 48-year-old Salonen will replace Christoph von Dohnányi, who has led the ensemble for nearly two decades.
The Philharmonia was where Salonen scored his international breakthrough in 1983, when he earned rave reviews for his interpretation of Mahler's Third Symphony as a last-minute replacement conductor. The following year, he took over as chief conductor of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he stayed until 1995.
Saariaho Premiere Delayed In another development, Salonen's U.S. premiere of fellow Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho's new opera/oratorio, "La Passion de Simone" has been postponed to the next season. He was to have led the Los Angeles Philharmonic's performances in January with soprano Dawn Upshaw in the lead role. However she has just begun treatment for early-stage breast cancer. The work's world premiere in Vienna will go on as scheduled starting November 26. Finnish soprano Pia Freund will replace Upshaw, for whom Saariaho wrote the score's only solo role. YLE24, AP, Helsingin Sanomat, The Guardian