The head of a musical dynasty, Neeme Järvi is one of today’s most esteemed maestros. He conducts the world’s most prominent orchestras and works alongside soloists of the highest calibre. Over his long and highly successful career he has held chief conductor positions across the world with orchestras such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, among others. He is currently Honorary Artistic Director for Life of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Emeritus of both the Residentie Orchestra The Hague and Detroit Symphony Orchestra. He also holds the titles of Principal Conductor Emeritus of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Laureate of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He spent three summers between 2013 and 2016 as Head of Conducting and Artistic Advisor of the Gstaad Conducting Academy. He has enjoyed recent engagements with European orchestras such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, and Orchestre national de France, as well as major orchestras in the USA and throughout Asia. In November 2023 he conducted a highly successful tour of China which was widely acclaimed.
A prolific recording artist, Neeme Järvi has amassed a discography of nearly 500 recordings. He has been a star recording artist with Chandos Records for over thirty years, his most recent releases, with orchestras such as the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, including discs of the three full-length ballets of Tchaikovsky and works by Joachim Raff, Kurt Atterberg, Saint-Saëns, and Martinů. Whilst highlights of his extensive discography for international record companies include critically acclaimed complete cycles of works by many of the great composers, he has also championed less widely known composers such as Wilhelm Stenhammar, Hugo Alfvén, and Niels W. Gade, as well as composers from his native Estonia, including Rudolf Tobias and Arvo Pärt. In September 2018 he received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the magazine Gramophone.
Neeme Järvi has been honoured with many international prizes and accolades. Named as one of the “Estonians of the Century,” he holds various awards from his native country, including an honorary doctorate from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Tallinn, and honorary doctorates from Wayne State University in Detroit, the universities of Michigan and Aberdeen, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. He has also been appointed Commander of the North Star Order by King Karl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.
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.
