Paavo Järvi

Paavo Järvi is an esteemed Estonian-American conductor currently Music Director of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, and Artistic Director of both the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and the Estonian Festival Orchestra.

Born in Tallinn on December 30th, 1962, Järvi began studies in percussion and conducting before emigrating with his family to the United States in 1980. In America, he continued his studies privately before going on to work with Max Rudolf at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, and with Leonard Bernstein at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute.

In a career, so far, spanning four decades, Järvi has held numerous notable positions including Principal Conductor of the Mälmo Symphony Orchestra (1995 to 1998) and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony (2006 to 2014), Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (2001 to 2011) and the Orchestra de Paris (2010 to 2016), and Chief Conductor of Tokyo’s NHK Symphony Orchestra (2015 to 2022).

In May 2017, having appeared as guest conductor on two previous occasions, Järvi was announced as the next Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, commencing the role at the beginning of the 2019 - 2020 season on an initial five year contract (which has subsequently been extended until the close of the 2028 - 2029 season). Amongst many performance and recording highlights with the Tonhalle, Järvi and the orchestra received an International Classical Music Award in 2024 for their widely acclaimed recording of Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony. 2024 also marks Järvi’s twenty years as Artistc Director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen.

In addition to his permanent roles, Järvi remains much in demand as a guest conductor, appearing regularly with many of the world’s leading orchestras including London’s Philharmonia and the Berlin and New York Philharmonics. He is also a prolific recording artist and a passionate promoter of Estonian music, a point highlighted by his founding both the Pärnu Music Festival and the Järvi Academy with his conductor father Neeme in 2011.