10 – 29 JULY
The Pärnu Music Festival has always been about family and, in addition to concerts and masterclasses led by Paavo, Kristjan and Neeme Järvi, this year’s edition welcomes two families of Estonian composers and musicians, as well an extended family of international guests who flock to Pärnu each summer to be part of the annual reunion.
The Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich’s new Mendelssohn recording with Paavo Järvi is released this month on Alpha Classics. The 4 CD box set, which comprises all five symphonies and the “Sommernachtstraum”, offers a unique insight into the orchestra’s work with Järvi over a two year period, which began mid-pandemic in the Spring of 2021 at the interim venue Tonhalle Maag and was completed in January 2023, in the splendidly renovated historic Tonhalle Zürich.
Paavo Järvi and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich launched their Mahler cycle this month with three performances of Mahler Symphony No. 5. The project, which will be a major focus over the next five years, is being recorded by Alpha Classics with the first release appearing in Spring 2025.
The Jury of the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) has announced the winners of the 2024 edition, honouring Paavo Järvi and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich with the ’BEST SYMPHONIC’ prize for their recording of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 on Alpha Classics.
This January Paavo Järvi and the Estonian Festival Orchestra return to home base in Pärnu on the Baltic Coast to prepare for their third European tour which takes them to Tallinn, Dortmund, Stuttgart, Zürich, Vienna and Munich from 16 to 25 January. With different programmes featuring works by Pärt, Silvestrov, Shostakovich, and Tchaikovsky, the orchestra is also joined by soloists Sol Gabetta and Maximilian Hornung for performances of Dvořák’s cello concerto.
The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen has been named Gramophone Orchestra of the Year at this year’s prestigious awards ceremony in London. In the only award to be voted by the public, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen claimed by far the majority of votes, outstripping fellow nominees, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestre de Paris.
PAAVO JÄRVI AND TONHALLE-ORCHESTER ZÜRICH LAUNCH THE NEW SEASON WITH BRUCKNER
Following acclaimed performances at the BBC Proms and the summer festivals of Bonn, Prague and Bucharest, Paavo Järvi and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich are back home ready to launch their fifth season with performances of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 9 this week.
Coinciding with the start of the new season Alpha Classics has just released Bruckner’s Symphony No. 8 recorded live in concert at the Tonhalle earlier this year. “How to Tame a Symphonic Beast” was the headline of The Times review. “If Bruckner could ever be made to sound light and athletic, Jarvi’s your man … The finale is cumulatively magnificent, with life’s struggles gradually clearing, leaving a final ringing peroration in the brightest of key signatures: C major. “
Stepping in at short notice to conduct the opening concerts of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Paavo Järvi’s performances have been met with critical acclaim:
“Abbado’s worthy successor” wrote the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. “From Mozart to Mahler, Paavo Järvi has set new standards in conducting here in Lucerne, an epicenter of orchestral art. Anyone who competes here with this orchestra in the future will have to be measured by that.”
On 11 and 12 August, Paavo Järvi will conduct the opening concerts of this year’s Lucerne Festival, stepping in for Riccardo Chailly who has had to withdraw due to illness. It is the first time that Paavo Järvi conducts the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and he opens the festival with a performance of Mahler Symphony No. 3, followed the next night with a programme featuring Mozart’s Piano Concerto K.271 (Jeunehomme) with Maria João Pires and Brahms Symphony No. 4.
Voting is now open for Gramophone’s Orchestra of the Year and amongst the 10 nominees is The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen which has been shortlisted alongside the Berlin Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra in Washington and others.
Vote now for DKAM here!