The British cellist Steven Isserlis is world famous for his flawless technique and his phenomenal musicality and creativity. As a soloist, he performs with the most well-known international orchestras. He is a regular guest at Wigmore Hall, at 92nd St in New York and at the Salzburg Festival, where he gives recitals and chamber music concerts, partnering Joshua Bell, Isabelle Faust, András Schiff, Stephen Hough, Olli Mustonen, Connie Shih and Richard Egarr. He compiles his programmes according to particular themes such as the exploration of Czech music, the cello’s affinity with the human voice or, as in ›The Cello in Wartime‹, the music of the First World War.

Isserlis’ greatest passion is historical performance practice. He performs with the leading Baroque orchestras and often directs chamber music performances from the cello. An equally fervent advocate and performer of contemporary music, he has worked together with – and performed numerous works by – composers such as John Tavener, Wolfgang Rihm and György Kurtag. In addition, Isserlis is the author of several children’s books and, as a sought-after teacher, gives masterclasses both at the Kronberg Academy and also in his role as Artistic Director of the International Music Course in Prussia Cove, Cornwall.

Isserlis’ discography has won many prizes and includes the Bach Cello Suites, recordings of the great cello concertos, Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas with Robert Levin, Lieux retrouvés with Thomas Adès and Haydn’s Cello Concerto with the Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen.

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.