In 2009 Christoph Eß, Sebastian Schorr, Stephan Schottstädt und Timo Steininger founded the horn quartet German Horn Sound which, thanks to its unusual profile, has achieved international recognition. Over the last few years this wind ensemble has debuted in almost all of the German speaking music festivals and in the last two seasons has performed with such orchestras as the Tokyo Symphony orchestra and given concerts in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Their repertoire ranges through virtually all genres and styles.

German Horn Sound sets itself apart through its various projects, such as the opera fragment ›Siegfried und Violetta‹, developed in 2013 and dedicated to Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi. They also produced a CD in 2013 together with Michael Sanderling and the Bamberg Symphony which included a work they commissioned from the Norwegian composer Trygve Madsen. German Horn Sound has been performing its Programme ›Pictures‹ – a work for eight horns and percussion based on works by Russian composers and thematically linked to Mussorgsky’s ›Pictures at an Exhibition‹. These four musicians have also been working together with the prize winning vocal ensemble Amarcord on a programme of Romantic music. In addition to their chamber music activities, the four members of German Horn Sound are all active as orchestral musicians, namely the Württemberg Philharmonie Reutlingen, Hanover Opera, Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin and the Bamberg Symphony 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.