Born in Argentina, Sol Gabetta is celebrated worldwide for her virtuoso cello playing and is a welcome guest with almost all the major international orchestras. In recent seasons, she has held residencies with the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Bamberger Symphoniker. The Wiener Konzerthaus dedicated a special portrait series to her and in the USA she has made regular guest appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra – alongside her esteemed colleague Klaus Mäkelä – and the New York Philharmonic. As a passionate chamber musician, her concerts have taken her to venues including Lincoln Centre in New York, London’s Wigmore Hall as well as Lucerne, Verbier, Salzburg, Schwetzingen, the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg and the Beethovenfest Bonn. In recognition of her exceptional artistic achievements, Sol Gabetta was awarded the Swiss Music Prize in 2024 and, prior to that, the European Culture Prize. In 2019, she received the Opus Klassik award as ›Instrumentalist of the Year‹. She has been teaching at the Basel Academy of Music since 2005.

In the 2025/26 season, this much-sought-after cellist returned to the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich as a ›Focus Artist‹ – including a number of touring concerts with Paavo Järvi – and thus to the orchestra with which she made her debut 20 years ago. Another project close to her heart this season is her tribute to the cello virtuoso Lise Cristiani, who was one of the first women to take centre stage with the cello in the 19th century. With her historically informed interpretations, Sol Gabetta brings this groundbreaking pioneer back to life. In the 2026/27 season, Sol Gabetta will be Artist-in-Residence with the Philharmonia Orchestra.

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.