From 8–18 July, the 2026 Pärnu Music Festival celebrates its 16th edition and 35 years of renewed Estonian independence, with a programme highlighting nature, international talent and the next generation. Under the artistic direction of Paavo Järvi – joined by his father Neeme and brother Kristjan – the festival welcomes over 300 musicians from around the world, reinforcing Pärnu’s reputation as Estonia’s summer capital and a creative incubator for the musical architects of tomorrow.
Paavo Järvi and the Estonian Festival Orchestra present five concerts, with repertoire ranging from the world premiere of Tõnu Kõrvits’s new viola concerto with soloist Amihai Grosz, to Carl Nielsen’s Sinfonia espansiva and Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. They are also joined by Latvian sisters Kristīne and Margarita Balanas in Philip Glass’s Double Concerto, and by star soloists Rudolf Buchbinder and Alice Sara Ott in Beethoven’s Piano Concertos Nos 1 and 3 for the festival’s closing concerts
The festival opens with Neeme Järvi and the Järvi Academy Youth Symphony Orchestra performing Heino Eller’s Koit (Dawn) and Videvik (Twilight), landmarks by the father of Estonian 20th-century symphonic music, followed by a contemporary summer-solstice-inspired programme with Kristjan Järvi and Nordic Pulse.
Additional highlights include world premieres by Estonian composers Liisa Hõbepappel, Evelin Seppar, and Märt-Matis Lill; the launch of a Young Talents Programme mentoring emerging soloists; and performances by rising star siblings Hans Christian and Henri Christoffer Aavik (Estonia) and Kristīne and Margarita Balanas (Latvia).
The Pärnu Music Festival and Järvi Academy is Estonia’s leading classical summer event. Set on a secluded Baltic Sea bay and surrounded by iconic landscapes, Pärnu offers an immersive and authentic Estonian cultural experience.
‘Pärnu has always been a place of return and reconnection for me. In 1993 I came home to a country rediscovering its voice. Today, as we mark 35 years of renewed independence and 16 years of the Pärnu Music Festival, we celebrate not only our past but our cultural future.’ Paavo Järvi
See the full programme here