Paavo Järvi and the Estonian Festival Orchestra. Photo: Kaupo KikkasThis 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.
A start-up ensemble created by Paavo Järvi in 2011 with the aim of introducing young Estonian musicians to their top international colleagues, the Estonian Festival Orchestra has long since proved itself to be something more than “just that”. As Estonian musicians now start to make their own individual mark overseas and players from around the world return to the Pärnu Festival each summer to perform with old friends, Järvi has created an international orchestral family where “year after year you can see and hear the artists evolve, open up, listen to each other” (Die Welt) and where “there are no egos, but truly passionate people in making and listening to the best music” (El Pais).
As an orchestra that usually only performs for two weeks each summer in Pärnu, tours are both seldom and special. In the last 5 years the Estonian Festival Orchestra has visited Japan and Korea and the last time they toured Europe was in 2018, when they made history as the first Estonian ensemble to be invited to the BBC Proms.
Paavo Järvi: “The fact that we don’t often perform together is one of the ingredients that makes the Estonian Festival Orchestra so extraordinary. When we come together it is as if we are on vacation, reunited with best friends. That sense of joy and excitement flows directly into the music, making each performance particularly special. So I hope that this tour will introduce the orchestra to new audiences, and inspire them to join us on holiday next summer in Pärnu.”
Mark the dates for the next Pärnu Music Festival which runs from 10 – 19 July (programme to be announced in early 2024).
Link to complete tour dates and programme listings: efo.ee/coming-up/