Grammy Award-winning, Estonian-born conductor Paavo Järvi is widely recognized as one of today’s most eminent conductors, enjoying close partnerships with the finest orchestras around the world. He serves as chief conductor of the Tonhalle Orchester-Zürich, as the longtime artistic director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen since 2004, and as both the founder and artistic director of the Estonian Festival Orchestra. From the start of the 2022-23 season, he also has served as honorary conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra.
In his fourth season as music director of Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Järvi embarked on a new Bruckner cycle in the recently refurbished Grosse Tonhalle and completed the Mendelssohn cycle, which was the main composer focus of the previous year. He closed the 2022-23 season with performances and a recording of Beethoven’s Fidelio in a new semi-staged production, directed by Eva Buchmann. Following two successful years of master classes in Zürich, Järvi continued his Conductors’ Academy in November and this autumn also saw the release of a new disc on Alpha Classics, celebrating the 75th birthday of John Adams.
As artistic director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen since 2004, Järvi has focused on in-depth projects of composers including Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms. During the 2022-23 season, Järvi and DKAM continue with their latest project, Haydn’s London Symphonies, which they perform on tour throughout Europe and Asia.
Each season concludes with a week of performances and conducting master classes at the Pärnu Music Festival in Estonia, which Järvi founded in 2011. The success of both the festival and its resident ensemble, the Estonian Festival Orchestra, has led to a string of high-profile invitations including recent performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna Konzerthaus, BBC Proms and Hamburg Elbphilharmonie. In 2019, the Estonian Festival Orchestra made its Japanese debut with soloist Midori, and last autumn they returned to Asia for their first tour of South Korea. In spring 2022, Alpha Classics released their third album, “Estonian Premieres,” with works by Estonian composers performed and recorded at the Pärnu Music Festival.
In addition to his permanent positions, Järvi is much in demand as a guest conductor, regularly appearing with the Berlin Philharmonic, Concertgebouworkest, London Philharmonia Orchestra and New York Philharmonic. He also continues to enjoy close relationships with many of the orchestras of which he was previously music director, including Orchestre de Paris, Frankfurt Radio Symphony and NHK Symphony Orchestra.
In 2019, Järvi was named Conductor of the Year by Germany’s Opus Klassik and received the 2019 Rheingau Music Prize for his artistic achievements with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen in the German orchestral and cultural landscape. Other prizes and honors include a Grammy Award for his recording of Sibelius’ Cantatas with Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Artist of the Year by both Gramophone and Diapason in 2015 and Commandeur de L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture for his contribution to music in France.
In 2015, he was presented with the Sibelius Medal for his work in bringing the Finnish composer’s music to a wider public and in 2012 was awarded the Hindemith Prize for Art and Humanity. As a dedicated supporter of Estonian culture, Järvi was awarded the Order of the White Star by the president of Estonia in 2013.
2023
Please note: Biographies are based on information provided to the CSO by the artists or their representatives. More current information may be available on websites of the artists or their management.
