“There isn’t a hint of a hothouse environment on stage – these are simply musicians having the time of their lives, no small thanks to the inspiring Paavo Järvi himself.”
BBC Music Magazine, UK

The Estonian Festival Orchestra was founded by Paavo Järvi in 2011 as the resident orchestra of the Pärnu Music Festival. The long dreamed of ambition by Järvi to create a hand picked orchestra, bringing together the best of Estonian talent and leading musicians from around the world, has led to international acclaim: “one of the world’s great orchestras” (The Arts Desk, UK), “with a truly breathtaking energy and virtuosity” (Diapason, France), “imbued with the spirit of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra” (Der Standard, Austria), where “there are no egos, but truly passionate people in making and listening to the best music” (El Pais, Spain) and where “year after year you can see and hear the artists evolve, open up, listen to each other” (die Welt, Germany).

“An important component in creating the orchestra was to “match-make” the players” says Paavo Järvi. “If you are a young player in Estonia, it doesn’t matter how good you are, it’s not often easy to make contact with a top player in the west. Now we can give these young musicians the advantage to play with elite players from abroad and get to know them as new friends. This spirit is what drives the orchestra and it is a delight each summer to see how those relationships have grown naturally, creating a melting pot of national and international talent where nationality is happily and importantly no boundary.”

In January 2018 the Estonian Festival Orchestra made its first European tour with concerts in Berlin, Brussels, Cologne, Luxemburg, Vienna and Zürich. In the same year it debuted at Hamburg Elbphilharmonie and London Royal Albert Hall, making history as the first Estonian ensemble to perform at the BBC Proms.  Since then it  has toured regularly throughout Europe, Japan and Korea.

The Estonian Festival Orchestra has released five albums on Alpha Classics: Shostakovich Symphony No.6 and Sinfonietta (2018), Mythos, dedicated to the music of Erkki-Sven Tüür in celebration of his 60th birthday (2019), Estonian Premieres (2022) highlighting the music of Tõnu Kõrvits, Ülo Krigul, Helena Tulve, Tauno Aints and Lepo Sumera, Kratt (2023) featuring works by Eduard Tubin, Witold Lutosławski and Grażyna Bacewicz, and Ship of Fools premiering new orchestral works by Jüri Reinvere.

The Pärnu Music Festival and Järvi Music Academy were founded by Paavo Järvi and his father Neeme, in 2011 – now home to the Estonian Festival Orchestra, it has established itself as one of the most exciting ventures in the international cultural arena.

It is hard to imagine a better location for a festival. As described in the Lonely Planet, it is a place for local families, young people and international holidaymakers to join together in a relaxed vibe with sunny weather while strolling the white-sandy beaches, sprawling parks and a picturesque historic centre.

Over a summer period audiences get to enjoy orchestral performances in a host of both intimate and popular locations, from the historical churches nearby to the luxurious spa resorts and the 1000-seater Pärnu Concert Hall; the town’s largest venue.

But that’s not all. We also work with the Järvi Music Academy to give young musicians the advantage to play with elite players from abroad and get to know them as new friends –  an invaluable opportunity to collaborate with the world’s finest. This is the unique unifying spirit of the orchestra.

In addition to the Pärnu Music Festival concerts, the Estonian Festival Orchestra also tours internationally, performing regularly in prestigious venues to sell-out audiences worldwide. So far we have performed throughout Europe, Japan and Korea collaborating with stellar soloists such as Viktoria Mullova, Khatia Buniatishvili, Lisa Batiashvili, Ksenija Sidorova and Midori. We made history in 2018 by being the first Estonian orchestra to perform at the BBC Proms and were joined for the celebrations by Arvo Pärt.