Neeme Järvi

Neeme Järvi (Estonian pronunciation: [ˈneːme ˈjærʋi]; born June 7, 1937) is an Estonian conductor.

Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others. Early in his career, he held posts with the Estonian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and the Opera in Tallinn. In 1971 he won first prize in the International Conductors Competition at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Järvi emigrated to the United States in 1980 with his family. He became an American citizen in 1987.

In 1982, he became the principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony, and held the post for 22 years, the longest-serving principal conductor in the orchestra's history. During his Gothenburg tenure, the recording profile and reputation of the orchestra greatly increased. He also helped to secure corporate sponsorship from Volvo that allowed the orchestra to increase in size from 80 to 110 players. He retained his post in Gothenburg until 2004, and now holds the title of Principal Conductor Emeritus (Chefdirigent Emeritus) with the orchestra.

Concurrently, Järvi was also Principal Conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) between 1984 and 1988. At the time, he referred to his two orchestras as his "Berlin Philharmonic" (RSNO) and his "Vienna Philharmonic" (Gothenburg). With the RSNO, he made a number of landmark recordings for Chandos, notably Prokofiev and Dvořák cycles as well as Strauss's tone poems, various Shostakovich pieces, including Symphonies Nos. 4, 7 and 10, and the two violin concertos featuring Lydia Mordkovitch. After a guest-conducting appearance in December 2006 after a 9-year absence from the RSNO, the orchestra named him their Conductor Laureate.

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