The Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich has announced the programme for its sixth season with Paavo Järvi as Music Director, opening this autumn with three concerts introducing this year’s creative chair, Anna Thorvaldsdottir and the “primeval sonic landscape” of her 2022 orchestral work Archora, partnered with Stravinsky’s 1919 Firebird Suite and Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1, with soloist and season Focus Artist Víkingur Ólafsson (18, 19 & 20 September).

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In the lead up to this year’s Pärnu Music Festival, Alpha Classics releases Paavo Järvi’s latest album with the Estonian Festival Orchestra. Ship of Fools is dedicated to leading Estonian composer Jüri Reinvere, and three of his recent works, all of which were premiered in Pärnu by the Estonian Festival Orchestra and Järvi Chamber Academy.

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Paavo Järvi’s latest release of Mendelssohn with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich on Alpha Classics has been chosen as an Editor’s Choice in the latest issue of Gramophone, which describes the set as “marvellous … rich in tonal weight but wonderfully light in spirit too”.

The BBC Music Magazine also gives the recording a 5 star review, saying “This new release of Mendelssohn’s complete symphonies confirms the symbiotic relationship Järvi has forged with the orchestra, and is jam-packed with exciting, at times electrifying, music-making … Many rival versions of this music exist, but it’s difficult to think of any which surpass Järvi’s for insight, immediacy and sheer enjoyment.”

Listen to Paavo Järvi talk to Gramophone in the latest podcast here

10 – 19 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. “

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