Kristjan Järvi

Kristjan Järvi (born 13 June 1972, Tallinn) is an Estonian-American conductor. He is the younger son of Neeme Järvi. His siblings, Paavo and Maarika are also accomplished musicians.

Biography

Kristjan Järvi and his family immigrated to the United States at the age of 7. 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.

From 1998 to 2000, Järvi was Assistant Conductor to Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is the founder and Music Director of the Absolute Ensemble, based in New York City. [cite news | url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E7DF1131F934A15753C1A9669C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | title=Putting Music Back Together Again | work=New York Times | author=Anthony Tommasini | date=27 October 2000 | accessdate=2008-04-22] In 2007, Järvi and the Absolute Ensemble were awarded the Deutsche Bank Prize for Outstanding Artistic Achievement. Järvi became Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Norrlands Opera Symphony Orchestra of Umeå in Sweden from 2000-2004. Since 2004, Järvi has been Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Vienna Tonkünstler Orchestra. [cite web | author=Tanja Dorn | title=IMG Artists Profile: Kristjan Järvi | url=http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=806 | publisher=IMG Artists | date= | accessdate=2008-04-23] His contract runs until the end of the 2008-2009 season. [cite news | url=http://www.playbillarts.com/news/article/3519.html | title=Kristjan Järvi Extends Contract With Austria's Tonkünstler Orchestra | work=Playbill Arts | author=Ben Mattison | date=20 December 2005 | accessdate=2008-04-22] In addition to his post in Vienna, Järvi is Artistic Advisor to the Kammerorchestre Basel. In addition to a Grammy nomination, Järvi has previously been awarded the German Record Critics Prize and a Swedish Grammy for his opera album "Isle of Bliss".

Järvi maintains guest conducting relationships with a number of orchestras, including London Symphony Orchestra (with whom he holds a performance exclusivity contract), Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Wales, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne and Berlin Radio Sinfonie Orchestre. 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, H.K Grüber, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Ezequiel Viñao, and Peeter Vähi.

Järvi's philanthropic activities include founding the Estonian Orphanage Music Outreach foundation and the Absolute Academy in Bremen. Järvi has a son, Lukas, from his first marriage to the violinist Leila Josefowicz. He and his second wife, the flautist Hayley Melitta, have a son, Finn Byron. [Mary Ellyn Hutton, "Meet another Järvi". "Cincinnati Post", 10 July 2007.] The family makes their home in Vienna and Florida.

References

External links

* [http://www.imgartists.com/?page=artist&id=806&c=2 Full Biography]
* [http://www.kristjanjarvi.com/ Kristjan Järvi official site]
* [http://www.tonkunstler.at/ Tonkünstler-Orchestra official site]
* [http://www.absoluteensemble.com/ Absolute Ensemble official site]