Praised by the ›New York Classical Review‹ for her »magnetic presence« and fascinating technical ability, Alena Baeva is one of the most exciting violinists of her generation. This multi-award-winning violinist has rapidly become a highly acclaimed soloist, performing with many major orchestras, including the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, with Paavo Järvi and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and with Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. She also collaborates with other outstanding ensembles and conductors such as Marek Janowski or performing artists such as Duncan Ward. Highlights of the current and upcoming season include debuts with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, the Orchestre National de Lyon among others.

A passionate chamber musician, Alena Baeva also performs with esteemed musical colleagues such as Martha Argerich, Yuri Bashmet or Steven Isserlis as well as with the Ukrainian pianist Vadym Kholodenko, with whom she has had a musical partnership for more than a decade. Alena Baeva is known for her broad, rapidly expanding repertoire. This range is also reflected in her extensive discography. After her acclaimed concert debut with the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen in 2022, the violinist is now returning to this orchestra.

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 has been the acclaimed, globally celebrated performances of the Beethoven cycle, 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. Since autumn 2021, the focus has been on Joseph Haydn’s twelve London symphonies, and since 2024, an intensive exploration of Franz Schubert’s symphonies.

Paavo Järvi has been Music Director of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich since the start of the 2019/2020 season. He is also the founder and Artistic Director of the Estonian Festival Orchestra and the Pärnu Music Festival, which he established in 2011. He regularly appears as a guest conductor with major orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the London Philharmonia Orchestra, the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras 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.