Entrée Festive

Festival Glasperlenspiel
Thu, July 4th at 7 pm St. John’s church (Jaani kirik), Tartu
ENTRÉE FESTIVE
Hans Christian Aavik (violin), Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta, concertmaster Arvo Leibur, Maestro Neeme Järvi
Haydn, “Turkish” Mozart, Albinoni

The opening concert of the Glasperlenspiel makes a festive and grand introduction to the festival, bringing the brightest representatives of different generations of Estonian musicians to the stage. Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5, known by the nickname “Turkish”, will feature Hans Christian Aavik, the most outstanding young Estonian violinist of recent years, who has attracted extraordinary attention both at home and in Europe for his versatile style and distinctive sound and has been praised for combining a probing intellect and curiosity with an extroverted charisma. He is the first Estonian to study at one of the world’s most prestigious music schools for string instrumentalists, the Kronberg Academy. Maestro Neeme Järvi will conduct the festival’s flagship Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta, while violinist Hans Christian’s brother Henri Christofer Aavik, who has also won numerous awards, will appear as an assistant conductor. In addition to the aforementioned concerto by Mozart, the opening evening will contain masterpieces by his contemporaries Joseph Haydn and Luigi Boccherini.

Hans Christian Aavik is one of the most promising Estonian violinists, who has gained recognition with his versatile style and clearly distinguishable sound both in Estonia and Europe. He is the prize winner of the 2022 Carl Nielsen International Competition, the international competition “Cadenza Contest” (2021) and the 3rd Làszlò Spezzaferri International Music Competition (2021), to name just a few. In 2022, Aavik received the Annual Award of the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the “Musician of the year” title by Association of Estonian Professional Musicians and the Usedom Prize. As a soloist, Aavik has collaborated with orchestras such as Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Estonian Festival Orchestra, Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Odense Symphony Orchestra, Uppsala Chamber Orchestra and Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra and has worked together with conductors Ville Matvejeff, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Olari Elts, Risto Joost, Daniela Musca, Arvo Volmer, Kaspar Mänd, Edoardo Narbona, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Mihhail Gerts and others. His debut album Aeternus (Pilw Records) with pianist Karolina Aavik was released in 2021. Aavik is currently studying in the prestigious Kronberg Academy with Prof Erik Schumann.

Henri Christofer Aavik, the new Chief Conductor of the Pärnu City Orchestra (since January 2024), is the winner of the Jorma Panula Conducting Competition (2021) and a 2nd prize winner of the 5th Evgeny Svetlanov International Conducting Competition (2022). The current season includes his debuts with the North Netherlands Orchestra and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra. Aavik has also conducted Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Bergische Symphoniker, Israel Camerata Jerusalem, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonia Rotterdam, Staatskapelle Weimar, Jenaer Philharmonie, Göttinger Symphonieorchester, Hradec Králové Philharmonic Orchestra and Orchestra Senzaspine. He has studied with Nicolás Pasquet, Ekhart Wycik, Johannes Schlaefli, Jac van Steen, Ed Spanjaard, Daniele Gatti, Paavo Järvi, Kenneth Montgomery, Pavel Baleff, Rüdiger Bohn and Bruno Weil.

The Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta is one of the festival’s symbols, being a long-time partner of the Glasperlenspiel and bearing the same name as the festival since 2012. The orchestra, founded in 2009, consists of professional musicians and its size varies from a string ensemble to a large orchestra depending on repertoire. The Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta performs a wide variety of music from Bach to Piazzolla, as well as contemporary music from Estonian composers such as Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Galina Grigorjeva and Peeter Vähi. The highlights of the season 2022/2023 include the participation in London’s West End International shows and collaboration with Arvo Pärt, Ivari Ilja and Vadim Repin. The orchestra has performed on world-famous stages and has given concerts almost everywhere in Europe, South-America, Russia, Iran, Israel and other countries. Sinfonietta was also the first Estonian orchestra to play in the Henry Le Boeuf Hall in Brussels and at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The orchestra has also participated in numerous festivals in Estonia and abroad. Regardless of the style of music, the orchestra can be recognized by an energetic, fresh and emotional way of playing that offers listeners joyful and pleasurable experiences and brings to life compositions created centuries ago.

Neeme Järvi is one of the most famous Estonian musicians and one of the world’s most recorded conductors. He has led 157 orchestras and was for a long time the chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Hague Residentie Orchestra, the music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra etc. Järvi’s discography is impressive, consisting of more than 500 records. He has recorded all the symphonies by Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Mahler, Strauss, Glazunov, Sibelius, Dvořák, Nielsen, Brahms and Tubin. During the last dozen years, about 20 CD-s have been released under the Estonian Record Productions. Neeme Järvi has been a long-time principal conductor and artistic director of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and is the only one to hold this position twice (1963–1979, 2010–2020). He has also launched the international master courses for conductors in Pärnu, which have grown into the Järvi Academy and the Pärnu Music Festival. The most important recognitions for the maestro in recent years are the lifetime achievement awards of the Republic of Estonia (2017), Gramophone (2018) and the Estonian Cultural Capital (2020). At the Glasperlenspiel, the maestro conducts for the third time.

Organizers:
Peeter Vähi – artistic director
Tiina Jokinen – executive director
Kadri Kiis – producer, accountant
Kaidi Ugandi – manager of Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta
Meeta Vardja – musicologist, editor of festival booklet
AI – design
Olavi Sööt – co-producer, video, logistics
Reno Hekkonens – marketing director, PR
Johannes Vähi – co-producer, webmaster, sound engineering, logistics
Marje Hansar – social media

Special thanks: Tartu City Government, Urmas Klaas, Triin Käpp, Jana Raud, Ministry of Culture of Estonia, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Canon, Toyota, Kaupo Kiis, Kristel Leppik, Anne-Liise Kiis, volunteers