Few conductors would consider
fusing Pablo de Sarasate’s virtuosic
violin piece Zigeunerweisen
with Psy’s 'Gangnam Style'. But
then, Kristjan Järvi isn’t your
typical conductor. Born in Estonia
into musical royalty – namely,
conductors Naeem (father) and
Paavo (brother) – his pedigree
suggests a more classic approach
to, well, classical music. But to
Järvi, music is only good or bad;
genre is immaterial. This innovative
approach has made him arguably
the most creative curator around.
The Järvi family emigrated from
Estonia to New York City when
Kristjan was only seven. While at
the Manhattan School of Music, he
formed the award-winning Absolute
Ensemble, an 18-member electro-acoustic
group that he calls part
big band, part chamber ensemble,
and part rock group, which blends
old and new in extraordinary
fashion. Strauss’ Till Eulenspiegel
is arranged only for eight players,
while a mere 12 musicians – one
on synthesiser – perform Mahler’s
Symphony No. 4. His Plugged-In
Series joined global, non-classical
artists with the Tonkünstler
Orchestra. To him, music has
no borders.
This goes for nations too. Many
youth orchestras are formed partly
to mitigate regional tensions,
such as the West-Eastern Divan
Orchestra (Arabs and Israelis)
and the Asian Youth Orchestra.
Järvi’s Baltic Sea Youth
Orchestra seeks to build a
community among Baltic
nations – including Estonia’s
noisy, heavily militarised
neighbour. But first, Järvi
looks to nature to heal. When
his programme included Arvo
Pärt’s Swansong, Sibelius’
Swan of Tuonela, and
Tchaikovsky’s Swan
Lake, Järvi took
the musicians
to a rugged
coastline
for a closer
look,
wanting them to feel and breathe,
rather than read the music.
Similarly, he told The Guardian
that he doesn’t sing in the shower
because he loves the sound of
water. His immersive Waterworks
concert joins multimedia
projections and lighting effects with
Handel’s Water Music and Philip
Glass’ Aguas de Amazonas.
In terms of adventurous
programming – particularly by China
standards – Järvi leaves it all on the
field, opening with Jaques Ibert’s
Flute Concerto. The eclectic Ibert
seems a natural Järvi match, having
stated that ‘all [musical] systems
are valid’ and having produced a
broad range of choral and chamber
works, operas, ballets and
incidental music for plays and films –
even Orson Welles’
Macbeth. During
World War II, the Vichy government
banned his music, but Charles de
Gaulle soon recalled him from his
self-imposed exile in Switzerland.
Its technical requirements saw his
flute concerto neglected for years,
but today, the challenging finale is a
Paris Conservatoire exam piece.
Things get more colourful still
with Estonian composer Peeter’s
Vähi oratorio, In the Mystical Land
of Kaydara, a musical interpretation
of the West African Fula people’s
national epic. The story tells of
three friends in the mysterious
realm of knowledge and gold, ruled
by invisible god Kaydara. Vähi found
inspiration while travelling in Africa,
and brought back instruments
to complement his
percussion section,
as well as the
accompanying video.
This concert is perfect
for those who want
something more than
the same old thing.
See full event details below.
