This Dutch violinist enjoys international acclaim for her »absolutely breathtaking« playing (Chicago Tribune) and her »bright, radiant tone« (The New York Times). With her extensive repertoire, Simone Lamsma appeared last season with some of the world’s leading orchestras including the New York Philharmonic and with Jaan van Zweden with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she also celebrated her return to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and toured with the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxemburg and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal. Alongside her close collaboration with Jaap van Zweden, she has also worked with other renowned conductors including Vladimir Jurowski, Sir Neville Marriner, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Omer Meir Wellber.

Further noteworthy appearances are planned for the 2022 season, including the premiere of a work for violin solo by Thomas Larcher as well as a violin concerto composed for Simone Lamsma by Mathilde Wantenaar and which will be premiered in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw by Karina Canellakis and the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest.

As well as several awards, this violinist received a further honour in 2019: she was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Music in London; a title reserved for only a limited number of alumni. Her current CD has just been released and includes works by Einojuhani Rautavaara. It was recorded together with Robert Trevino and the Malmö Symphony.

Estonian conductor and Grammy Award winner Paavo Järvi has been Artistic Director of the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen since 2004. One of the many highlights of this collaboration was the Beethoven cycle, acclaimed worldwide by audiences and critics alike, for which Järvi received numerous awards including the ›Echo Klassik Conductor of the Year‹ award and the prestigious annual ›German Record Critics‹’ award. Their Beethoven project was followed by an intensive exploration of the symphonic works of Schumann and Brahms; both cycles also received numerous awards. From autumn 2021, the focus was on Joseph Haydn’s twelve London symphonies, and since 2024, an intensive exploration of Franz Schubert’s symphonies.

Järvi has been Music Director of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich since the start of the 2019/20 season. He is also the founder and Artistic Director of the Estonian Festival Orchestra and the Pärnu Music Festival. From the 2028/29 season, Järvi will take up the post of Principal Conductor and Artistic Advisor to the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He also regularly appears as a guest conductor 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, he was named ›Artist of the Year‹ by both the British magazine Gramophone and the French magazine Diapason. This was followed in 2019 by the Opus Klassik award for ›Conductor of the Year‹. Other awards 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 2015, Paavo Järvi also received the Sibelius Medal in recognition of his work in bringing this Finnish composer’s music to a wider audience, and in 2012 he received the Hindemith Prize for Art and Humanity. As a committed supporter of Estonian culture, Paavo Järvi was awarded the Order of the White Star by the President of Estonia in 2013.