Truls Mørk is one of the pre-eminent cellists of our time. Initially taught by his father, he continued his music studies with Frans Helmerson, Heinrich Schiff and Natalia Schakowskaya. In his early career, he won a number of international competitions such as the Moscow Tchaikovsky Competition and the Naumburg Competition in New York. Renowned for combining fierce intensity, integrity and grace, Truls Mørk regularly performs with some of the world’s most distinguished orchestras, including Orchestre de Paris, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the leading orchestras in North America. Conductor collaborations include Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sir Simon Rattle, Gustavo Dudamel, Kent Nagano and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

In autumn 2025, the Norwegian cellist opened the Dresden Philharmonic season under the baton of conductor Tabita Berglund and also gave guest performances with orchestras in Berlin, Rotterdam, Oslo, Paris, Gothenburg, Bamberg and in other major European centres of music. A great champion of contemporary music, Truls Mørk has performed in excess of 30 premieres and given first performances of numerous major cello concertos. His impressive discography includes recordings of many of the great cello concertos for leading labels such as Virgin Classics, EMI and Deutsche Grammophon, as well as interpretations of the core cello repertoire, many of which have won international awards including Grammy, Gramophone Award, Midem Classical Award and Echo Klassik.

The Estonian conductor and Grammy Award winner Paavo Järvi has served as Artistic Director of the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen since 2004. One of the many highlights of this long standing collaboration was the widely acclaimed Beethoven cycle, whose performances were celebrated by critics around the world and honoured with numerous awards, including the Echo Klassik for “Conductor of the Year.” The Beethoven project was followed by an intensive exploration of the symphonic works of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms; both cycles likewise received multiple distinctions. Since autumn 2021, the orchestra has turned its focus to Joseph Haydn’s twelve London Symphonies, followed in 2024 by an in depth engagement with the symphonies of Franz Schubert.

Since the 2019/20 season, Paavo Järvi has also served as Music Director of the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich. Starting with the 2028/29 season, Järvi will assume the position of Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He is the founder and Artistic Director of the Estonian Festival Orchestra and the Pärnu Music Festival, which he established in 2011. As a guest conductor, he regularly appears with leading orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 2015, Paavo Järvi was named Artist of the Year by both Gramophone magazine (UK) and Diapason (France). This was followed in 2019 by the Opus Klassik award for Conductor of the Year. Further honours include a Grammy Award for his recording of Sibelius’ Cantatas with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and the title Commandeur de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, awarded by the French Ministry of Culture. In recognition of his commitment to promoting the music of Jean Sibelius, he received the Sibelius Medal in 2015, and in 2012 he was awarded the Hindemith Prize for Art and Humanity. For his dedication to Estonian culture, Paavo Järvi was awarded the Order of the White Star by the President of Estonia in 2013, and in 2024 he received the Bremen Senate Medal for Art and Science.