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Neemi YarvyConductor
Date of Birth: 07.06.1937
Country:  Estonia |
Content:
Biography of Neeme Järvi
Neeme Järvi is an Estonian conductor who is known for his work as a symphonic and opera conductor. He made his debut as a symphonic conductor at the age of 18 in Estonia, and as an opera conductor at the Leningrad State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre with Georges Bizet's "Carmen". Järvi studied percussion instruments and choral conducting at the Tallinn Music School from 1955 to 1960. He continued his studies in opera and symphonic conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory, studying with Nikolai Rabinovich and Yevgeny Mravinsky.
Early Career
After his debut in Estonia, Järvi became the chief conductor of both the Estonian Television and Radio Symphony Orchestra and the orchestra of the Estonia Theatre in 1963. However, he later focused solely on working with the symphony orchestra starting in 1976. Järvi gained international recognition in the 1960s after numerous tours with the Kirov Theatre throughout the former USSR and Eastern Europe. His international career took off in 1971 after winning the competition at the Santa Cecilia Academy in Italy. This victory led to invitations from renowned orchestras and opera houses around the world.
International Career and Later Years
In 1980, Järvi and his family left the Soviet Union and relocated to the United States, where he became a U.S. citizen in 1987. From 1982 to 2004, he served as the chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, and simultaneously led the Scottish National Orchestra from 1984 to 1988 and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra from 1990 to 2005. Järvi has also been the principal guest conductor of the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (1981-1983) and other ensembles. Since 2005, he has been the chief conductor of the Residentie Orkest in The Hague, one of the Netherlands' leading orchestras.
Throughout his career, Järvi has performed regularly with renowned orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Orchestre de Paris, and many others. In 2010, he returned to lead the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, but left a few months later due to disagreements with the Ministry of Culture. However, he returned for the following season.
Achievements and Legacy
Järvi has conducted a total of 1,119 concerts in 125 cities, leading 72 different orchestras. He is also recognized for his interpretations of rarely performed and lesser-known symphonic scores. His recordings include complete collections of symphonies by Hugo Alfvén, Samuel Barber, Alexander Borodin, Antonín Dvořák, Vasily Kalinnikov, Bohuslav Martinů, Carl Nielsen, Sergei Prokofiev, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Jean Sibelius, Wilhelm Stenhammar, Eduard Tubin, Zdeněk Fibich, and Dmitri Shostakovich. He has also recorded all of Sergei Rachmaninoff's operas and symphonic works, as well as collections of symphonic compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven, Edvard Grieg, Antonín Dvořák, and Jean Sibelius.
In January 2011, Järvi was appointed as the artistic director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, and in September 2012, he assumed the role of music director. His contract with the orchestra is set for three seasons until August 31, 2015. Both of Järvi's sons, Paavo and Kristjan Järvi, have followed in his footsteps and become professional conductors. Neeme Järvi has received numerous awards and honorary titles, including being an honorary doctor of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre, as well as universities in Detroit, Aberdeen (Scotland), and Gothenburg. In his native Estonia, he is unofficially known as the "Estonian of the century" and is an honorary citizen of the city of Pärnu. He is also the laureate of the first prize at the International Competition of the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome in 1971.
