Neeme Järvi
Veteran conductor Neeme Järvi has led many orchestras in Europe and the U.S. over a career stretching back to the 1950s. With his children now as rivals, he has remained a busy star on the international conducting scene well into his eighties, and he is among the most prolific conductors of modern times in the recording studio.
Born in the Estonian capital of Tallinn on June 7, 1937, and brought up within the Soviet Union's system for developing musical talent, Järvi studied percussion and conducting at the Tallinn Music School. He made his debut as a conductor at age 18. From 1955 to 1960, he pursued further studies at the Leningrad Conservatory, where his principal teachers were Nikolaï Rabinovich and Yevgeny Mravinsky. Järvi took a leading role in the musical life of his homeland. In 1963, he assumed the directorship of the Estonian Radio & Television Orchestra, his first important post. He also founded the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and, for 13 years, was the chief conductor of Opera House Estonia in Tallinn. From 1976 to 1980, he was chief conductor and artistic director of the Estonian State Symphony Orchestra, then in its infancy. By the late '70s, his fame had spread throughout the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and he received favorable notices for his appearances in the West. He made history by leading the first performances of Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier and Gershwin's Porgy and Bess ever given in the USSR.
Järvi developed a particular interest in unearthing and performing neglected repertory by both little-known and important composers, and his recorded output in this area dates back to well before Estonia's independence. He began recording for the BIS label in the early '80s. He was a champion of the Estonian composers Eduard Tubin and Arvo Pärt. In 1979, he premiered Pärt's Credo, a work that represents a turning point in that composer's stylistic evolution. Järvi, recognizing the importance of Credo (which incorporates biblical texts), presented it without first navigating through the usual channels of the Communist Party or the Composers' Union. The resulting controversy and official disfavor induced Järvi to emigrate. He was permitted to leave Estonia in 1980; within a month of his departure, he made his debut performances with the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. He quickly received important appointments: principal guest conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in England (1981-1983) and the Japan Philharmonic; music director of the Royal Scottish Orchestra (1984-1988) and the Gothenburg (Sweden) Symphony Orchestra (1982-2004). Järvi became an American citizen in 1985. In 1990, he assumed the post of music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, remaining there until 2005. He led that ensemble through a troubled period and made some 30 recordings with the group on the Chandos label. He has also served as principal conductor of the New Jersey Symphony, the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague, and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.
Järvi's concert appearances gradually slowed as he approached his ninth decade, but his recorded legacy has continued to grow at an impressive pace. For the BIS label, he recorded a great deal of unfamiliar Scandinavian music with various orchestras from the 1980s to the 2020s. Järvi has also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon and Orfeo. His recording projects include cycles of orchestral music by Sibelius, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and others. In late Romantic repertory, especially from France and the Scandinavian countries, he remains one of the world's great specialists, and he has maintained relationships with many of the ensembles he has headed. The year 2016 alone saw no fewer than seven new releases, including the continuation of a symphony cycle devoted to composer Kurt Atterberg, recorded with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Devoting himself mostly to substantial symphonic works, Järvi nevertheless did not disdain lighter fare; in 2015, he released, with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the album A Festival of Fucik, devoted to the composer of the familiar circus march Entry of the Gladiators. He remains a fixture of Chandos' catalog, issuing a pair of new albums on the label, one of orchestral works by composers Artur Kapp, Mihkel Lüdig, and Artur Lemba, and the other of ballet music by Léo Delibes in 2020. He made several recordings during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2023, he led the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, backing pianist Anna Shelest in a recording of the first two piano concertos of Anton Rubinstein. By that time, Järvi's recording catalog comprised more than 400 albums.
Järvi's children have made their mark on the musical world as well: sons Paavo and Kristjan have gained international reputations as conductors. Daughter Maarika was the principal flutist with the RTVE Symphony Orchestra in Madrid. Neeme has written an Estonian-language memoir, Kunstniku elu (The Maestro's Touch).
© James Manheim & Joseph Stevenson /TiVo
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Tchaikovsky: Orchestral Works including Symphonies 1-6
Klassik - Erschienen bei BIS am 25.01.2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben & Four Last Songs
Neeme Järvi, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Dame Felicity Lott
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.08.1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Piano Concertos Nos. 1, 4 & 5
Neeme Järvi, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Boris Berman
Instrumentalmusik - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.04.1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvorak: Requiem
Klassik - Erschienen bei London Philharmonic Orchestra am 01.11.2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ives: Symphony No. 1 & Symphony No. 2
Neeme Järvi, Detroit Symphony Orchestra
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.10.2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rubinstein: Piano Concertos Nos. 3 & 5
Anna Shelest, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi
Klassik - Erschienen bei Sorel Classics am 19.04.2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Arvo Pärt: Collage sur B-A-C-H, Musica Sillabica, Pro et contra
Neeme Järvi, Estonian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei JSC Firma Melodiya am 01.01.1969
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Cinderella Suites
Neeme Järvi, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.02.1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Symphony No. 2 & Slavonic Rhapsody in A-Flat Major
Neeme Järvi, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.04.1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Symphony No. 6 & The Noon Witch
Neeme Järvi, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.06.1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Spring Song / The Bard / Three Pieces, Op. 96 / Presto for Strings / Three Suites
Monica Einarson, Charlotte Forsberg, Göteborgs Symfoniker, Neeme Järvi
Klassik - Erschienen bei BIS am 01.01.1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Aus Italien & Metamorphosen
Neeme Järvi, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.06.2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 3 & Symphonic Dances
Neeme Järvi, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.09.2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stravinsky: Jeu de Cartes, Orpheus & The Soldier's Tale
Neeme Järvi, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Klassik - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.04.2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 & The Golden Spinning Wheel
Neeme Järvi, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.01.1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler: Kindertotenlieder & Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen - R. Strauss: Notturno
Linda Finnie, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Edwin Paling, Neeme Järvi
Vokalmusik (weltlich und geistlich) - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.03.1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stenhammar: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 / Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Orchestral Music
Göteborgs Symfoniker, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi
Klassik - Erschienen bei BIS am 30.11.1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Piano Concerto in A Minor - Chopin: Piano Concerto in F Minor
Neeme Järvi, Philharmonia Orchestra, Louis Lortie
Instrumentalmusik - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.05.1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tamberg: Joanna Tentata Suite - Symphonic Dances - Concerto grosso
Klassik - Erschienen bei BIS am 27.07.2010
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dvořák: Orchestral Works
Neeme Järvi, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Brian Rayner Cook
Symphonien - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.07.1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Ultimate Experience
Klassik - Erschienen bei Chandos am 01.09.2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo