Perfect Pärnu
classical-music.com
29/07/2015
Oliver Condy
29/07/2015
Oliver Condy
Pärnu, Estonia’s summer capital, is tucked within a huge natural
harbour on the Baltic country's southern coast. Mysteriously unknown to British
holiday-makers but a firm favourite with the Finns (and, once upon a time,
violinist David Oistrakh and composer Dmitri Shostakovich), the city boasts
pristine white beaches with a gloriously safe, swimmable patch of sea, a
delightful mix of old and new architecture, lush wooded spaces, superb
restaurants and more spas than you could shake a stick at. Oh, and a truly
wonderful music festival that’s starting at last to make a name for itself
outside Estonia.
The Pärnu Music Festival, held earlier in July, has four
major trump cards up its sleeve – firstly, Pärnu is lucky enough to possess
Estonia’s finest concert hall, a 1,000-seater, seven-year-old gem of a space
that hosts many of the festival’s superb concerts.
Secondly, the festival is directed and nurtured by none other
than irrepressible conductor Paavo Järvi, who each year invites his equally
gifted family along too: his baton-wielding father Neeme and brother Kristjan,
plus various aunts, uncles – and even young children. There are, at last count,
at least nine professional Järvis taking part… Are there any members of the
Järvi family who aren’t musical?, I ask Paavo in his dressing room one evening.
He thinks for a moment, smiles, and shakes his head.
The festival’s third trump card comes in the form of the
festival orchestra, an ensemble of players hand-picked by Paavo Järvi from
orchestras around the world – not just the finest, he tells me, but individuals
likely to ‘muck in’, get on, and help give the festival its intimate and joyful
atmosphere.
Many of the players perform in chamber concerts throughout
the festival, some even starring as concerto soloists (including clarinetist
Matthew Hunt who, together with bassoonist Martin Kuuskmann, give a charming
and riveting performance of Richard Strauss’s rarely-performed, sensational
Duett-Concertino). Estonia’s own composers get a good look-in throughout the
week, including Eduard Tubin, whose Symphony No. 6 and Violin Concerto get
impressive airings, and, naturally, Estonia’s own living legend, Arvo Pärt, who
comes along to watch two of his works be
stunningly performed.
There isn’t a hint of a hothouse environment on stage – these
are simply musicians having the time of their lives, no small thanks to the
inspiring Paavo Järvi himself, and they’re an inspiration, in turn, to the
festival youth orchestra, a collection of Estonia’s finest young musical talent
who, alternately with the festival orchestra, give some of the week’s most
electrifying performances.
Finally, no festival would be complete without its audience,
and Pärnu’s crowd is warm, supportive and appreciative. Paavo Järvi is, it
seems, playing to friends – and that’s exactly what a festival should be all
about.
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