Kristjan Järvi
Kristjan Järvi (Estonian pronunciation: [ˈkristjɑnˈjærʋi] , alternate (U.S.) spelling: Kristian Järvi) (born 13 June 1972) is an Estonian American conductor, composer and producer. Born in Tallinn, Estonia, he is the younger son of the conductor Neeme Järvi and brother of conductor Paavo Järvi and flutist Maarika Järvi.
Early life
[edit ]When Järvi was age 7, his family emigrated to the United States and settled in Shrewsbury, New Jersey. He became an American citizen in 1985.[1] He grew up in New York City. Järvi studied piano with Nina Svetlanova at the Manhattan School of Music. He later went on to study conducting at the University of Michigan under Kenneth Kiesler.
Career
[edit ]From 1998 to 2000, Järvi was Assistant Conductor to Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He and the composer Gene Pritsker co-founded the Absolute Ensemble, based in New York City, in 1993, with Järvi as its music director.[2] [3] In 2007, Järvi and the Absolute Ensemble were awarded the Deutsche Bank Prize for Outstanding Artistic Achievement.
Järvi was Chief Conductor and Music Director of NorrlandsOperan from 2000 to 2004. From 2004 to 2009, Järvi was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Tonkünstler Orchestra, Vienna.[4] Järvi is also the current Artistic Advisor to the Kammerorchester Basel and the conductor and founder of the Baltic Sea Philharmonic (formerly Baltic Youth Philharmonic). In April 2011, Järvi was appointed the next chief conductor of the MDR Symphony Orchestra effective with the 2012–2013 season, with an initial contract of 3 years.[5] [6] His MDR contract was extended in 2015. In March 2017, the MDR announced that is to conclude his MDR Symphony Orchestra after the close of the 2017–2018 season.[7]
In addition to a Grammy nomination, Järvi has previously been awarded the German Record Critics Prize and a Swedish Grammy for the recording of Hilding Rosenberg's opera "Isle of Bliss". He has recorded Leonard Bernstein's Mass with the Tonkünstler Orchestra and Absolute Ensemble.[8] While Järvi's repertoire includes pieces from the Classic and Romantic periods, he is also a specialist for 20th-century composers and contemporary music, having commissioned works by Arvo Pärt, Heinz Karl Gruber, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Ezequiel Viñao, Peeter Vähi, Dave Soldier, Joe Zawinul, Stefano Bollani and Gediminas Gelgotas among others. In 2014, Järvi and the French record label Naïve Classique launched the 'Kristjan Järvi Sound Project', an ongoing series featuring recordings from all of Järvi's ensembles.
Järvi defies musical orthodoxy and pursues his pioneering ideas and concepts with three bands and orchestras: Together with Gene Pritsker he co-founded the New York-based classical-hip-hop-jazz group "Absolute Ensemble". Järvi is founder-conductor and artistic director of the "Baltic Sea Philharmonic" and he is leader of the "Sunbeam Production" in-house band "Nordic Pulse.
As a recording artist Järvi has more than 60 albums to his credit, from Hollywood soundtracks such as "Cloud Atlas", "Sense 8" (both productions of the Wachowski sisters), "Hologram for the King" (directed by Tom Tykwer) and award-winning albums on Sony Classical and Chandos, to his eponymous series: the "Kristjan Järvi Sound Project" and recording for Max Richter.
In 2016 Kristjan Järvi started his own Production Company Sunbeam Productions in order to being able to bring unique live music experiences to his audiences. Kristjan recently signed a record deal with BMG – Modern Recordings. Where in 2020 he released his first own Album "Nordic Escapes"
After "Snow Maiden" and "Swan Lake", Kristjan ́s own arrangements of Tchaikovsky ́s Theatre Works series on Sony Classical takes off with its third release: "Sleeping Beauty". Next releases will be "The Nutcracker"
Composer
[edit ]As a composer Järvi has active many compositions, of modern style and some composed with the german composer Johnny Klimek of Klimek-Tykwer-Heil fame, and some for orchestra, vocal, chorus or synth instruments. Some of his partial compositions are:
- Rattle, with Johnny Klimek (2019)
- Pendleonium, with Johnny Klimek (2019)
- NEBULA (2019)
- Kritical Mass (2018)
- Babylon Charleston (2018), for the series Babylon Berlin .
His latest Album is Nordic Escapes, released in August 2020 on Modern Recordings (BMG)
References
[edit ]- ^ Brian Wise (2004年04月18日). "A Maestro And His Plans For Reshaping An Orchestra". New York Times. Retrieved 2008年11月04日.
- ^ Brian Wise (2006年03月19日). "A Premiere for the State And for the New Conductor". New York Times. Retrieved 2009年10月02日.
- ^ Anthony Tommasini (2000年10月27日). "Putting Music Back Together Again". New York Times. Retrieved 2008年04月22日.
- ^ Ben Mattison (2005年12月20日). "Kristjan Järvi Extends Contract With Austria's Tonkünstler Orchestra". Playbill Arts. Retrieved 2008年04月22日.
- ^ "MDR stellt neuen Chefdirigenten vor" (Press release). MDR. 18 April 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 2011年11月06日.
- ^ "Kristjan Järvi soll das MDR-Sinfonieorchester modernisieren". Leipziger Volkszeitung. 2011年04月18日. Retrieved 2011年11月06日.
- ^ "WSO Letzte Spielzeit für Kristjan Järvi" (Press release). MDR. 22 March 2017. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 2017年04月08日.
- ^ Geoff Brown (2009年02月21日). "Kristjan Järvi: Bernstein Mass". The Times. Retrieved 2009年09月23日.[dead link ]
Bibliography
[edit ]- Järvi, Kristjan (2014): "A Soundtrack to Our Lives..." . In: Stoppe, Sebastian (ed.), Film in Concert: Film Scores and their Relation to Classical Concert Music, pp. 131–144. ISBN 978-3-86488-060-5 doi:10.25969/mediarep/16802.
External links
[edit ]- Kristjan Järvi official website
- Kristjan Järvi at IMDb
- Dorn Music GmbH agency page on Kristjan Järvi
- Absolute Ensemble official site
Cultural offices | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | Chief Conductor, NorrlandsOperan 2000–2004 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | Chief Conductor, MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra 2012–2018 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by (no predecessor)
|
Chief Conductor, Baltic Sea Philharmonic 2008–present |
Succeeded by incumbent
|
- 1972 births
- Estonian conductors (music)
- Estonian emigrants to the United States
- Living people
- Manhattan School of Music alumni
- Musicians from New Jersey
- Composers from New York City
- Musicians from Tallinn
- People from Rumson, New Jersey
- University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance alumni
- 21st-century conductors (music)
- Järvi family