Paavo Järvi’s fall 2025 highlights: celebrating Arvo Pärt at 90 on recording (Sep 5) and in Carnegie Hall with Estonian Festival Orchestra (Oct 23); tours with Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen

(August 2025) — Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi celebrates his compatriot and close family friend Arvo Pärt on his 90th birthday this fall with the release of the all-Pärt album Credo on Alpha Classics (digital Sep 5; U.S. CD release Nov 7), recorded this past July during the Pärnu Music Festival, of which Järvi is founder and Artistic Director. In a watershed moment for Estonian culture, Järvi continues this series of tributes to Pärt when he leads the Pärnu Music Festival’s resident ensemble, the Estonian Festival Orchestra, in all-Pärt performances in Tallinn, Vienna, Zurich, and Hamburg (Oct 18, 19, 20), before culminating with a performance in Carnegie Hall that launches a year-long celebration of Pärt and marks the orchestra’s North American debut (Oct 23). Multiple videos of performances from the Pärnu Music Festival are available here, and a video of Järvi and the Estonian Festival Orchestra’s performance of Pärt’sCredo in the festival’s final concert can be found here. As Spain’s Scherzo declared in its festival overview: “What living artist could ever dream of a better tribute from his fellow citizens?”

Embarking on his seventh season as Music Director of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich this season, Järvi releases Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 on the Alpha Classics label in October, followed by multiple live performances of Mahler’s First and Second Symphonies with the Tonhalle, both in Zurich and on tour (Nov 12–Dec 2). With stops in Vienna (Nov 22), Cologne (Dec 1), and Paris (Dec 2), the tour also includes two performances in Baden-Baden, marking the launch of a five-year-long residency at the Festspielhaus. Järvi also conducts the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen – which he has led for more than two decades – on tour in Germany and Austria in December with programs featuring Schubert’s Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, juxtaposed with alternating violin concertos by Bartók and Strauss performed by Alena Baeva (Dec 8–14). The Schubert symphonies are currently being recorded as part of a complete cycle of the composer’s symphonies set to be released on the Sony Classical label.

Two guest conducting engagements round out Järvi’s fall schedule, both featuring Sibelius symphonies. He returns to the Toronto Symphony to lead a program pairing Debussy’s Prélude à l’aprés-midi d’un Faune with Sibelius’s Fifth Symphony, the North American premiere of Estonian composer Tõnu Kõrvits’s Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra, and Pēteris Vasks’s The Fruit of Silence for Accordion, Vibraphone and String Orchestra (Oct 30; Nov 1, 2). The latter two works feature accordionist Ksenija Sidorova, who performs the same works a month earlier with Järvi and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich (Sep 24–26). Järvi also conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto with Beatrice Rana as soloist, along with Sibelius’s Second Symphony (Oct 9, 10, 12). In the spring, the same two soloists join Järvi for high-profile engagements in the U.S.: he conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Schumann’s Overture, Scherzo and Finale and Brahms’s Symphony No. 2, with Rana reprising the Beethoven on the same program (March 27–29); and he leads the Chicago Symphony in Brahms’s Variations on a Theme by Haydn and Sibelius’s Second Symphony, this time with Sidorova performing Estonian composer Erkki-Sven Tüür’s “Prophecy” Concerto for Accordion (Apr 2–4).

Celebrating Arvo Pärt at 90

In a review of this past summer’s Pärnu Music Festival, Classical Voice North America declared: “[Arvo] Pärt’s career is inextricably and significantly associated with the so-called Järvi dynasty of conductors: patriarch Neeme and sons Paavo and Kristjan.” Neeme Järvi memorably conducted the 1968 premiere of Pärt’s monumental Credo in Tallinn, a dramatic event that saw the piece subsequently banned by Soviet officials for its religious and political provocations. Paavo Järvi’s new album with the Estonian Festival Orchestra, which will be digitally released on September 5 to coincide with Pärt’s 90th birthday a week later, is titled Credo to honor this turning point in the composer’s life. The U.S. CD release will be November 7. A longtime champion of Estonian composers in general, Paavo Järvi is uniquely positioned to celebrate the music of his compatriot and friend, and in fact Pärt’s Silhouette – inspired by the Eiffel Tower and heard on Credo in its world premiere recording – was composed for him in 2010 when he was Chief Conductor of the Orchestre de Paris. Says the conductor, “I believe that Estonian culture is best represented through music which naturally expresses our national voice. Our country may be small, but Arvo Pärt’s iconic music is loved worldwide.” Järvi continues:

“Most of these compositions, with the exception of two, Fraters and Cantus, I have never recorded before … It is a tribute to Arvo’s birthday. I wanted the recording to include compositions documenting his entire career, from early compositions like Credo to some of his late compositions like Swansong and Da pacem Dominus. Basically, the idea was to show different sides of his work.”

Following his September album release, Järvi will embark on a tour of an all-Pärt program – comprising Cantus in memoriam Benjamin Britten, Perpetuum mobile, La Sindone, Adam’s Lament, Tabula Rasa, Fratres, Swansong, and Credo – with the Estonian Festival Orchestra that culminates with the ensemble’s North American debut in Carnegie Hall, joined by violinists Midori and Hans Christian Aavik, composer-pianist Nico Muhly, and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (Oct 23). Pärt holds Carnegie Hall’s Richard and Barbara Debs Composer’s Chair for the 2025–26 season, and Järvi’s performance with the Estonian Festival Orchestra – which Scherzo calls “energetic, wild, incandescent and absolutely captivating” – kicks off a seven-concert Carnegie Hall restrospective of Pärt’s works over the course of the season. Details about all the performances are available here, and Carnegie’s promotional video about Pärt and his music is available here.

Credo: Arvo Pärt

Track list:

1. La Sindone
2. Fratres
3. Swansong
4. Für Lennart in Memoriam
5. Da Pacem Domine
6. Silhouette – Dedicated to Paavo Järvi and Orchestre de Paris (world premiere recording)
7. Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten
8. Mein Weg
9. Credo
10. Estonian Lullaby

Estonian Festival Orchestra
Paavo Järvi, conductor
Kalle Randalu, piano
Estonian National Male Choir
Elllerhein Girls’ Choir
Ellerhein Alumni Choir

Paavo Järvi: 2025–26 season

Sep 17, 18, 19
Zurich, Switzerland
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Sol Gabetta, cello
Thomas ADÈS: Dawn
SHOSTAKOVICH: Concerto for Cello No. 2, Op. 126
RACHMANINOV: Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27

Sep 24, 25, 26
Zurich, Switzerland
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Ksenija Sidorova, accordion
Arvo PÄRT: Silhouette, Hommage à Gustave Eiffel
Tõnu KÕRVITS: Dances: Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra
Pēteris VASKS: The Fruit of Silence for Accordion, Vibraphone and String Orchestra (arr. George Morton)
Arvo PÄRT: Summa for strings
MOZART: Symphony No. 38 in D, K. 504, “Prague”

Oct 2, 3
Leipzig, Germany
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
Midori, violin
Renaud Capuçon, violin
Arvo PÄRT: Tabula Rasa for two violins, string orchestra and prepared piano
RACHMANINOV: Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27

Oct 9, 10, 12
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Beatrice Rana, piano
BEETHOVEN: Concerto for Piano No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 43

Oct 15–23
Tour with Estonian Festival Orchestra
Midori, violin
Hans Christian Aavik, violin
Nico Muhly, Kalle Randalu, piano
Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Tõnu Kaljuste, director
Repertoire to be selected from:
Arvo PÄRT:
Collage sur B-A-C-H for Oboe, String Orchestra, Harpsichord and Piano
Cantus in memory of Benjamin Britten (1977)
Perpetuum Mobile (1963)
La Sindone (2005)
Adam’s Lament (2009)
Tabula Rasa (1977)
Fratres (1977)
Passacaglia
Da pacem Domine (2004–06)
Swansong (2013)
Credo (1968)
Oct 15: Tallinn, Estonia
Oct 18: Vienna, Austria (Konzerthaus)
Oct 19: Zurich, Switzerland (Tonhalle)
Oct 20: Hamburg, Germany (Elbphilharmonie)
Oct 23: New York, NY (Carnegie Hall)

Oct 30; Nov 1 & 2
Toronto, Ontario
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Ksenija Sidorova, accordion
DEBUSSY: Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune
Tõnu KÕRVITS: Dances: Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra
Pēteris VASKS: The Fruit of Silence for Accordion, Vibraphone and String Orchestra (arr. George Morton)
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 5 in E-flat, Op. 82

Nov 9
London, England
Philharmonia Orchestra
Alena Baeva, violin
BRAHMS: Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56
BRUCH: Concerto for Violin No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 5 in E-flat, Op. 82

Nov 12–Dec 2
Mahler “Resurrection” with Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Mari Eriksmoen, soprano
Anna Lucia Richter, mezzo-soprano
Zürcher Sing-Akademie (Florian Helgath, director); Wiener Singverein (Nov 22 only)
MAHLER: Symphony No. 2 in C minor, “Resurrection”
Nov 12–14: Zurich, Switzerland (Tonhalle)
Nov 22: Vienna, Austria (Musikverein Wien)
Nov 29: Baden-Baden, Germany (Festspielhaus)
Dec 1: Cologne, Germany (Philharmonie)
Dec 2: Paris, France (Philharmonie)

Nov 20–28
Mahler “Titan” and cello concertos with Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Sol Gabetta, cello (Nov 20m, 21)
Gautier Capuçon, cello (Nov 28)
SCHUMANN: Cello Concerto in A minor, Op. 129 (Nov 20m, 21)
DVOŘÁK: Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 (Nov 28)
MAHLER: Symphony No. 1 in D, “Titan” (Nov 20, 21, 28)
Nov 20m, 20: Zurich, Switzerland (Tonhalle)
Nov 21: Vienna, Austria (Musikverein Wien)
Nov 28: Baden-Baden, Germany (Festspielhaus)

Dec 8–14
European Tour with Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie
Alena Baeva, violin
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 5 in B-flat, D485
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 6 in C, D589, “Little”
BARTÓK: Concerto for Violin No. 1, BB 48a (Dec 8–10)
R. STRAUSS: Concerto for Violin in D minor, Op. 8 (Dec 12–14)
Dec 8–10: Bremen, Germany (Die Glocke)
Dec 12, 13: Vienna, Austria (Wiener Konzerthaus)
Dec 14: Cologne, Germany (Kölner Philharmonie)

Jan 29, 30, 31; Feb 1
Zurich, Switzerland
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Hélène Grimaud, piano
JANÁČEK: The Cunning Little Vixen Suite (Jan 30, 31; Feb 1)
GERSHWIN: Concerto in F (Jan 30, 31; Feb 1)
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 5 in E-flat, Op. 82

Feb 6
Luxembourg
Luxembourg Philharmonic
Bruce Liu, piano
RACHMANINOV: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
HANS ROTT: Symphony No.1 in E

Feb 12–14
Berlin, Germany
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Lang Lang, piano
MAURICE RAVEL: Concerto for Piano in G
HANS ROTT: Symphony No.1 in E

Feb 18, 19
Paris, France
Orchestre de Paris
Sol Gabetta, cello
Helena TULVE: Wand’ring Bark
ELGAR: Concerto for Cello in E minor, Op. 85
BARTÓK: Concerto for Orchestra

Feb 26, 27; March 1
Hamburg, Germany
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra Hamburg
Martin Fröst, clarinet (Feb 26, 27)
Helena TULVE: Wand’ring Bark (Feb 26, 27)
NIELSEN: Concerto for Clarinet, Op. 57 (Feb 26, 27)
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 3 in D, Op. 29, “Polish”

March 4, 7
Tour with London Philharmonic
Alexandre Kantorow, piano
TCHAIKOVSKY: Concerto for Piano No. 2 in G, Op. 44
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 43
March 4: London, England (Royal Festival Hall)
March 7: Athens, Greece (Megaron)

March 11–13
Zurich, Switzerland
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Janine Jansen, violin
Thomas ADÈS: Three Studies after Couperin
BRUCH: Concerto for Violin No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, “Scottish”

March 18–20
Zurich, Switzerland
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Hilary Hahn, violin
HONEGGER: Pacific 231
MAHLER: Symphony No. 10
HONEGGER: Rugby (Symphonic Movement No. 2), H67
SHOSTAKOVICH: Concerto for Violin No. 1 in A minor, Op. 77 (99)

March 27–29
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles Philharmonic
Beatrice Rana, piano
SCHUMANN: Overture, Scherzo and Finale in E, Op. 52
BEETHOVEN: Concerto for Piano No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 73

April 2–4
Chicago, IL
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Ksenija Sidorova, accordion
BRAHMS: Variations on a Theme by Haydn, Op. 56
Erkki-Sven TÜÜR: Concerto for Accordion, “Prophecy”
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 2 in D, Op. 43

April 16-25
Tour with Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie
Mao Fujita, piano
Repertoire selected from:
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 1 in D, D82
MOZART: Concerto for Piano No. 19 in F, K. 459
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 3 in D, D200
MENDELSSOHN: Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 56, “Scottish”
Apr 16–18: Bremen, Germany (Die Glocke)
Apr 19: Heidelberg, Germany (Heidelberger Frühling Festival)
Apr 21: Vienna, Austria (Musikverein Wien)
Apr 22: Valencia, Spain (Palau de la Música)
Apr 25: Hamburg, Germany (Elbphilharmonie)

May 8–10
Zurich, Switzerland
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Maria Duenas, violin
KORNGOLD: Concerto for Violin in D, Op. 35
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat, “Romantic”

May 11
Milan, Italy
Teatro alla Scala
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Maria Duenas, violin
KORNGOLD: Concerto for Violin in D, Op. 35
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64

May 17-24
Japan tour with Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Janine Jansen, violin
Kyohei Sorita, piano
SCHUMANN: Genoveva Overture, Op. 81
BRAHMS: Concerto for Violin in D, Op. 77
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
BEETHOVEN: Concerto for Piano No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat, “Romantic”

May 26, 27
Korea tour with Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Janine Jansen, violin
Repertoire to be selected from:
SCHUMANN: Genoveva Overture, Op. 81
BRUCH: Concerto for Violin No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 4 in E-flat, “Romantic”
TCHAIKOVSKY: Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64

June 17–19
Zurich, Switzerland
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
Igor Levit, piano
BRAHMS: Concerto for Piano No. 2 in B-flat, Op. 83
SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 1 in B-flat, Op. 38, “Spring”

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