Violinist, conductor and composer Pekka Kuusisto is widely recognised for his artistic freedom and fresh approach to the repertoire. He is Artistic Director of the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Co-Director of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also an artistic partner of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and has been an ›Artistic Best Friend‹ of the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen since 2017. Last season, Kuusisto made his debut as a violinist with the Berliner Philharmoniker and as conductor with the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. This season he has performed with the Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig, the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, among others.

In addition to being an enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music who regularly premieres new works himself, Pekka Kuusisto is a gifted improviser, collaborating with people from across the artistic spectrum. Unfettered by conventional genre boundaries, his recent projects have included collaborations with composer and pianist Hauschka and percussionist Samuli Kosminen, Dutch neurologist Erik Scherder, electronic music pioneer Brian Crabtree and many more. In 2022, Kuusisto will release his first album as a conductor together with violinist Vilde Frang and the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen.

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.