© Alberto Venzago

Paavo Järvi – Music Director

Paavo Järvi has been our Music Director since the 2019/20 season. We find playing under him wonderful, because a special energy is created – and no two concerts are ever alike.

Paavo Järvi studied percussion and conducting in his hometown, Tallinn, when Estonia was still part of the Soviet Union. In 1980, the entire family emigrated to the United States, where Paavo Järvi continued his studies in Los Angeles under Leonard Bernstein. In 2001 he became Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; to this day, he maintains links with the ensemble as Music Director Laureate. Cincinnati was the first of several important international postings: the United States were followed by Germany, France and Japan.

Just as he maintains links with «his» orchestras, Järvi also remains connected with his Estonian homeland, where he supports and promotes Estonian composers. In 2011, together with his father, Neeme Järvi, he founded the Pärnu Music Festival and the Järvi Academy. Paavo Järvi is also a co-founder of Zurich’s Conductors’ Academy, whose winners are also invited to the Järvi Academy.

Paavo Järvi’s influence in Zurich is documented in his first CD recordings made with the orchestra.

«What music is capable of as art is subtle, but powerful. It touches our whole being – in a world of efficiency, productivity and structures that demand a great deal of us. We must create a counterbalance in this world, which we should encounter with humanity – with music, for example.»

In addition, Paavo Järvi…

  • works as a guest conductor with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Orchestra London, the Staatskapelle Dresden and the New York Philharmonic
  • has been Chief Conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo) since 2015
  • is Artistic Director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
  • was Chief Conductor and Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris until 2016
  • is Conductor Laureate of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony and Music Director Laureate of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
  • was honoured for his interpretations of Beethoven in 2010 and won the OPUS KLASSIK award for Conductor of the Year in 2019

More about Paavo Järvi

How does our music director Paavo Järvi actually get around in Zurich? In the tram, of course. In the newvideo series «Tram for Two» Paavo Järvi takes guests of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich on a ride through the city.

Experience our music director in the new format tonhalleCRUSH, where he not only conducts but also comments on the orchestral works on stage. Then it's on to a contrasting programme in the concert foyer, where a group of musicians will not be playing classical music, but all sorts of other things.

November 2024
Fri 08. Nov
19.30

Galakonzert Freundeskreis

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director Mahler
Sat 09. Nov
18.30

Paavo Järvi with Mahler

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director Mahler
Sun 10. Nov
17.00

Paavo Järvi with Mahler

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director Mahler
January 2025
Wed 22. Jan
19.30

Paavo Järvi & Víkingur Ólafsson

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Víkingur Ólafsson Klavier Adams, Mahler
Thu 23. Jan
19.30

Paavo Järvi & Víkingur Ólafsson

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Víkingur Ólafsson Klavier Adams, Mahler
Fri 24. Jan
19.30

Paavo Järvi & Víkingur Ólafsson

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Víkingur Ólafsson Klavier Adams, Mahler
Thu 30. Jan
18.30

tonhalleCRUSH

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Tanya König Moderation Schostakowitsch
Fri 31. Jan
19.30

Paavo Järvi & Anna Vinnitskaya

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Anna Vinnitskaya Klavier Schumann, Schostakowitsch
February
Sat 01. Feb
18.30

Freundeskreis concert

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Anna Vinnitskaya Klavier Schumann, Schostakowitsch
Sun 02. Feb
17.00

Paavo Järvi & Anna Vinnitskaya

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Anna Vinnitskaya Klavier Schumann, Schostakowitsch
March
Wed 05. Mar
19.30

Paavo Järvi, Tanja Tetzlaff & Christian Tetzlaff

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Christian Tetzlaff Violine, Tanja Tetzlaff Violoncello Ligeti, Brahms, Schumann
Thu 06. Mar
19.30

Paavo Järvi, Tanja Tetzlaff & Christian Tetzlaff

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Christian Tetzlaff Violine, Tanja Tetzlaff Violoncello Ligeti, Brahms, Schumann
Fri 07. Mar
22.00

tonhalleLATE – classic meets electronic

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director Ligeti, Schumann, Kollektiv Packungsbeilage
Wed 12. Mar
19.30

Paavo Järvi & Víkingur Ólafsson

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Víkingur Ólafsson Klavier Brahms, Lutosławski
Thu 13. Mar
12.15

Orchestra lunch concert with Paavo Järvi

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director Sibelius, Lutosławski
Thu 13. Mar
19.30

Paavo Järvi & Víkingur Ólafsson

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Víkingur Ólafsson Klavier Brahms, Lutosławski
Sat 15. Mar
20.00

Gastspiel in Hamburg

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Víkingur Ólafsson Klavier Brahms, Schumann
Sun 16. Mar
20.00

Gastspiel in Hamburg

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Víkingur Ólafsson Klavier Ligeti, Adams, Lutosławski
Tue 18. Mar
20.00

Gastspiel in Paris

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Víkingur Ólafsson Klavier Ligeti, Adams, Schumann
Wed 19. Mar
20.00

Gastspiel in Frankfurt

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Víkingur Ólafsson Klavier Brahms, Schumann
Fri 21. Mar
20.00

Gastspiel in Köln

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Víkingur Ólafsson Klavier Brahms, Schumann
Sat 22. Mar
19.00

Gastspiel in Essen

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Anna Vinnitskaya Klavier Ligeti, Schumann
May
Wed 28. May
19.30

Conductors' Academy: Closing Concert

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Martin Frutiger Englischhorn, Teilnehmer*innen der Conductors' Academy , Andrea Thilo Moderation Verdi, Vasks, Tschaikowsky, Strauss
June
Wed 04. Jun
19.30

Paavo Järvi with Mozart

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director Mozart
Thu 05. Jun
19.30

Paavo Järvi with Mozart

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director Mozart
Fri 06. Jun
19.30

Paavo Järvi with Mozart

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director Mozart
October 2024
Thu 31. Oct
19.30

Gastspiel in Zaragoza

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Lisa Batiashvili Violine Mozart, Prokofjew, Schostakowitsch
Wed 30. Oct
19.30

Gastspiel in Madrid

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director Mahler
Tue 29. Oct
19.30

Gastspiel in Madrid

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Lisa Batiashvili Violine Mozart, Prokofjew, Schostakowitsch
Mon 28. Oct
20.00

Gastspiel in Barcelona

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Lisa Batiashvili Violine Prokofjew, Mahler
Sun 27. Oct
20.00

Gastspiel in Alicante

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director Mahler
Thu 24. Oct
19.30

Paavo Järvi & Lisa Batiashvili

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Lisa Batiashvili Violine Mozart, Prokofjew, Schostakowitsch
Wed 23. Oct
19.30

Paavo Järvi & Lisa Batiashvili

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Lisa Batiashvili Violine Mozart, Prokofjew, Schostakowitsch
September
Fri 27. Sep
20.00

Paavo Järvi & Golda Schultz

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Golda Schultz Sopran Webern, Strauss, Bruckner
Thu 26. Sep
20.00

tonhalleCRUSH – classic meets Brazil

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Golda Schultz Sopran, Tanya König Moderation, Richard Octaviano Kogima Klavier Webern, Strauss
Wed 25. Sep
20.00

Paavo Järvi & Golda Schultz

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Golda Schultz Sopran Webern, Strauss, Bruckner
Fri 20. Sep
19.30

Season opening with Paavo Järvi & Víkingur Ólafsson

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Víkingur Ólafsson Klavier Brahms, Thorvaldsdottir, Strawinsky
Thu 19. Sep
19.30

Season opening with Paavo Järvi & Víkingur Ólafsson

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Víkingur Ólafsson Klavier Brahms, Thorvaldsdottir, Strawinsky
Thu 19. Sep
12.15

Orchestra lunch concert with Paavo Järvi

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director Thorvaldsdottir, Strawinsky
Wed 18. Sep
19.30

Season opening with Paavo Järvi & Víkingur Ólafsson

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Víkingur Ólafsson Klavier Brahms, Thorvaldsdottir, Strawinsky
Thu 12. Sep
20.30

Gastspiel in Lugano

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Sheku Kanneh-Mason Violoncello Schostakowitsch, Mahler
Wed 11. Sep
19.30

Gastspiel in Luzern

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Sheku Kanneh-Mason Violoncello Schostakowitsch, Mahler
August
Fri 30. Aug
20.00

Gastspiel in Wiesbaden

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Bruce Liu Klavier Smetana, Chopin, Brahms
Thu 29. Aug
20.00

Gastspiel in Wiesbaden

Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi Music Director, Christian Tetzlaff Violine Beethoven, Brahms
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