Estonian conductor to make U.S. debut
Cincinnati Post classical music critic Mary Ellyn Hutton visited with up-and-coming Estonian conductor Olari Elts as he prepared for his engagement this week with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in her article Estonian conductor to make U.S. debut (2/25/05). Maestro Elts shares some memories of Estonia and the influence of Paavo 's father Neeme on the cultural life of their native country:
Excerpts
Olari Elts will be away from his country on Estonian Independence Day (today), but no Estonian is ever away entirely.
"Never," he said.
"It's the mentality of a small country. If we are not thinking about those things, who is? Wherever I am, my brain vibrations go through Estonia. I think always through Estonia." ....
Elts spoke from Riga, where he is music director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. "Paavo has told me a lot about Cincinnati. I am thrilled to meet this marvelous orchestra."
Elts and Järvi shared the same podium in Tallinn last summer, when both conducted at Estonia's famous Song Festival before a crowd estimated at 100,000 people. Focus of Estonia's "Singing Revolution," the festival is a national event (Estonia regained its freedom after 50 years of Soviet occupation in 1991). "For us as Estonians, one of the top moments is if you can conduct in the song festival," he said....
...Earlier this month, Elts led the world premiere of [Erkki-Sven] Tüür's Symphony No. 5 in Stuttgart, a work for symphony orchestra, big band and electric guitar (Elts led the Latvian premiere Feb. 18). Guitarist Adrian Belew, a Northern Kentucky native, has been in contact with Tüür about the work, The Post's Rick Bird reported last week.
"That's definitely a piece the orchestra (CSO) should play. It suits American orchestras very well," Elts said....
After Estonian re-independence -- Feb. 24 celebrates Estonia's first independence, when it threw off two centuries of czarist rule in 1918 -- Elts went to Vienna to study conducting. "Most Estonian conductors studied in Moscow or St. Petersburg (including Järvi's father, Neeme Järvi)."
Elts also studied with Neeme Järvi at Järvi's summer conducting academy in Pärnu, Estonia. "I just adored the Russian school. That was one of the reasons I went to Neeme's master class. I think he has the best technique in the world."
Elts remembers the years of silence when the Järvi name was not spoken in Estonia. One of the most famous conductors in the Soviet Union, Neeme Järvi emigrated to the U.S. in 1980 to escape official persecution (Paavo was 17 at the time). He had come under censure for programming music unacceptable to the Communist regime, such as Estonian Arvo Pärt's Credo, a work containing text from the Bible.
"If you look at the official press at the time, they just disappeared," Elts said. "They even took all (Neeme's) recordings from the radio. If somebody played on the radio music he was conducting, then it just wasn't allowed to say who was conducting. You cannot imagine how big was his comeback years later." ....
Excerpts
Olari Elts will be away from his country on Estonian Independence Day (today), but no Estonian is ever away entirely.
"Never," he said.
"It's the mentality of a small country. If we are not thinking about those things, who is? Wherever I am, my brain vibrations go through Estonia. I think always through Estonia." ....
Elts spoke from Riga, where he is music director of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra. "Paavo has told me a lot about Cincinnati. I am thrilled to meet this marvelous orchestra."
Elts and Järvi shared the same podium in Tallinn last summer, when both conducted at Estonia's famous Song Festival before a crowd estimated at 100,000 people. Focus of Estonia's "Singing Revolution," the festival is a national event (Estonia regained its freedom after 50 years of Soviet occupation in 1991). "For us as Estonians, one of the top moments is if you can conduct in the song festival," he said....
...Earlier this month, Elts led the world premiere of [Erkki-Sven] Tüür's Symphony No. 5 in Stuttgart, a work for symphony orchestra, big band and electric guitar (Elts led the Latvian premiere Feb. 18). Guitarist Adrian Belew, a Northern Kentucky native, has been in contact with Tüür about the work, The Post's Rick Bird reported last week.
"That's definitely a piece the orchestra (CSO) should play. It suits American orchestras very well," Elts said....
After Estonian re-independence -- Feb. 24 celebrates Estonia's first independence, when it threw off two centuries of czarist rule in 1918 -- Elts went to Vienna to study conducting. "Most Estonian conductors studied in Moscow or St. Petersburg (including Järvi's father, Neeme Järvi)."
Elts also studied with Neeme Järvi at Järvi's summer conducting academy in Pärnu, Estonia. "I just adored the Russian school. That was one of the reasons I went to Neeme's master class. I think he has the best technique in the world."
Elts remembers the years of silence when the Järvi name was not spoken in Estonia. One of the most famous conductors in the Soviet Union, Neeme Järvi emigrated to the U.S. in 1980 to escape official persecution (Paavo was 17 at the time). He had come under censure for programming music unacceptable to the Communist regime, such as Estonian Arvo Pärt's Credo, a work containing text from the Bible.
"If you look at the official press at the time, they just disappeared," Elts said. "They even took all (Neeme's) recordings from the radio. If somebody played on the radio music he was conducting, then it just wasn't allowed to say who was conducting. You cannot imagine how big was his comeback years later." ....
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