Glasperlenspiel Music Festival 2027
Thu, July 8th at 7 pm, St. John’s church (Jaani Street 5, Tartu)
OPENING CONCERT – VIOLET WINDS
Dedicated to the 90th birthday of Maestro Neeme Järvi
Raschèr Saxophone Quartet, Soo-Young Lee (basset clarinet, South-Korea), Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta, conductor Kasper Joel Nõgene
Mozart, Vähi, Feklina (première)
The dedication to Neeme Järvi‘s dignified birthday is no coincidence. And the reason is not only the extremely friendly personal relations of the festival organisers with the Maestro. Namely, Neeme Järvi has conducted the opening concerts of the Glasperlenspiel on two occasions in the current decade alone, the programme of this concert is partly composed by him, the clarinet soloist Soo-Young Lee is his choice, and it is not insignificant that today’s conductor Kasper Joel Nõgene has honed his conducting skills under the guidance of the Maestro. Thus, although the jubilee himself will not conduct in Tartu, he still has a protective hand over the event. In addition, Neeme Järvi’s latest CDs (a few dozen of them have been released under the ERP label) with Maestro’s autographs will be available at the concert.
Last year, the Young Composer composition competition was held in Estonia, where the special prize of the Estonian Record Productions and the Glasperlenspiel Music Festival was awarded to composer Selina Feklina, who is currently residing in Germany, for her work 「私」の喪失 (‘Loss of Me’). The highlight of the work was due to the use of Japanese texts with philosophical undertones and bold experiments with innovative playing techniques. One part of the award was the premiere of a new composition for chamber orchestra at the opening of Glasperlenspiel 2027.
“If there were an Olympic discipline for virtuoso wind playing, the Raschèr Quartet would definitely receive a gold medal.” (Die Welt)
The Raschèr Saxophone Quartet was founded in 1969 and is today one of the world’s leading saxophone quartets. Although they started in the United States, they soon relocated to Germany, where they are still based today. The name comes from the legendary classical saxophonist Sigurd Raschèr, who was also a founding member of the group. After Sigurd’s daughter, Carina, stopped performing in 2002, the quartet continued under the same name without any Raschèrs on board.
When introducing themselves, the group emphasizes that they operate and make musical decisions on a democratic basis – in other words, they have no sole leader.
Over the decades, more than 300 composers have written pieces for them, and even a quick glance at their repertoire reads like a lexicon of contemporary music: Philip Glass, Sofia Gubaidulina, Mauricio Kagel, Iannis Xenakis, Per Nørgård, Giya Kancheli, and many others.
The Raschèr Saxophone Quartet’s music can be heard on over 50 recordings. Their stylistic range is vast, and repertoire highly flexible. In addition to solo concerts, they have performed with many renowned orchestras, choirs, and soloists. There are few prestigious concert halls in the world where the Raschèr Saxophone Quartet has not left its mark with their saxophones. Lets name just a few: Musikverein, Royal Festival Hall, Concertgebouw, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center…
The Quartet’s recordings have appeared on around 50 albums, the latest of which – Words (un)Spoken – was released in 2025 under the ERP label.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, clarinetist Soo-Young Lee began her musical education at the age of five initially with the violin, before switching to the clarinet at the age of 12. Soo-Young Lee holds a Bachelor of music degree with summa cum laude from the Seoul National University studying with Dong-Jin Kim, a Master of Music degree with distinction from the School of Music und Performing Arts in Graz studying with Prof. Stefan Schilling, and Konzertexamen degree from Hochschule für Musik in Detmold studying with Prof. Thomas Lindhorst.
She won the 1st prize at Woohyun Wind Instruments Competition (Seoul, 2005), the special prize in the 3rd International Woodwind and Percussion Competition (Moscow, 2011), and the 1st prize in Alumni-AStA Interpretation Competition (Detmold, 2013). She has performed as a soloist with Bielefelder Philharmoniker, Northwestdeutsche Philharmonie, National Symphony Orchestra of Romania, Österreichisch-Koreanische Philharmonie Wien, Korean Philharmonic Orchestra, Seoul Youth Philharmonic Orchestra… Since 2016, she has been an active founding member of Auftakt Ensemble, a trio consisting of violin, clarinet, and piano. Since 2019. Soo-Young is the Principal Clarinet of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra.
The Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta is a long-term partner of the festival and has shared the same name with the festival since 2012. It is an orchestra made up of professional soloists, chamber musicians, and orchestral players, whose size and composition vary according to the needs of the repertoire, ranging from a string ensemble to a Beethoven-sized orchestra of up to 40 members. Sinfonietta demonstrates that all kinds of music can refresh the mind, warm the soul, and be invigorating. This sense of energy and individuality is one of the orchestra’s most valuable characteristics. Its versatile repertoire ranges from Bach to Piazzolla, and also includes contemporary works by Estonian composers such as Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Pärt Uusberg, Tõnu Kõrvits, Ardo Ran Varres, Peeter Vähi, and others. Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta has operated under the Estonian Record Productions since 2009. The idea was initiated by conductor Risto Joost, who founded the orchestra under the name Tallinn Sinfonietta and served as its artistic director until 2011, after which Andres Mustonen has continued in the position. The orchestra has performed on world-famous stages and participated in international music festivals almost everywhere in Europe, South America, Israel and other countries. Sinfonietta was also the first Estonian orchestra to play in the Henry Le Boeuf Hall in Brussels, at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.
Kasper Joel Nõgene is an outstanding young musician who is considered one of the greatest hopes for the future of Estonian orchestral conducting. He has received wide attention as a musician with exceptionally early maturity and talent, who started conducting as a child, at the age of 10 he founded an orchestra at the XXI School in Tallinn, which also performed in public. At the age of 15, he was the youngest participant of the Järvi Academy ever. The organisers of the Pärnu Music Festival entrusted him with conducting Bartók’s Romanian Folk Dances in its entirety, receiving a thunderous round of applause. Thus, a kind of Wunderkind. Kasper Joel comes from a family of musicians, his grandfather is the long-time chief conductor of the Vanemuine Theatre, Endel Nõgene. His music education comes from the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet, and the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. Since 2026, Kasper Joel has been studying in Salzburg, at the famous Mozarteum University. Endel Nõgene has highlighted the young conductor’s „singing hands“ and natural musical breathing. Kasper Joel himself has said about his profession that when conducting, you must not think about movements, you must concentrate only on the music. Today, Kasper Joel, who has grown out of the status of a child prodigy, has been an expected guest in front of both the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and the Vanemuine Theatre. Kasper Joel is conducting the Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta for the second time, the last time with a standing ovation to a full house at the Tallinn Alexela Concert Hall.
Mozart. Clarinet Quintet. Soo-Young Lee (clarinet), conductor Neeme Järvi. Live. Fragment, 3 min 34 sec, mp3, 320 kbps
Vähi. Violet Winds. Raschèr Saxophone Quartet. Live. Fragment, 4 min 13 sec, mp3, 320 Kbps
See full festival program
Organizers:
Peeter Vähi – artistic director
Tiina Jokinen – executive director
Kadri Kiis – producer, accountant
Kaidi Ugandi – manager of Glasperlenspiel Sinfonietta
Mart Kivisild – design
Olavi Sööt – co-producer, video, logistics
Reno Hekkonens – marketing director, PR
Johannes Vähi – co-producer, webmaster, sound engineering, logistics
Rebeca Birk – social media
Special thanks: Tartu City Government, Urmas Klaas, Triin Käpp, Jana Raud, Ministry of Culture of Estonia, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Heino Eller Music College, Kadri Leivategija, Tiina Kangro, Madis Metsis, Tõnis Tamm, Joel Oistrat, Priit Reiman, Canon and Overall, St John’s church, Kaupo Kiis, Kristel Leppik, volunteers
