【Beijing】2025.01.04-01.05 New Year's Blessing: Paavo Järvi, Julia Hagan and the London Philharmonic Orchestra

Performance time: 2025.01.04 ~ 2025.01.05
Venue: National Centre for the Performing Arts - Concert Hall View seat map
Address: 2 Xi Chang'an Avenue, Xicheng District, Beijing
Duration: approximately 90 minutes (subject to the actual performance)

Performance introduction

Conductor

Paavo Järvi

“The true successor to Abbado... From Mozart to Mahler, Paavo Järvi sets new standards in the art of conducting.” – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Grammy-winning Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi is widely regarded as one of the most outstanding conductors of his generation. He maintains close working relationships with many of the world's leading orchestras. Paavo Järvi is Chief Conductor of the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and has been Artistic Director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen since 2004. He is also the founder and Artistic Director of the Estonian Festival Orchestra.

Every year, in the last week of the season, Paavo Järvi performs and conducts master classes at the Pärnu Music Festival in Estonia, which he founded in 2011. The festival and its resident orchestra, the Estonian Festival Orchestra, have been extremely successful and are frequently invited to perform at top international concert halls such as the Berlin Philharmonie, the Musikverein in Vienna, the BBC Proms and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

In addition to his long-term conducting positions, Paavo Järvi is also a highly sought-after guest conductor with orchestras around the world, regularly collaborating with world-class ensembles such as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. This season, he will conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Budapest Festival Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic and the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, Paavo Järvi maintains close ties with the orchestras he has previously served as music director, including the Orchestre de Paris, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and the NHK Symphony Orchestra.

In 2019, Paavo Järvi was awarded the German Opus Klassik prize as “Conductor of the Year” and the Rheingau Music Prize for his outstanding artistic achievements with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Other important awards and honors include: a Grammy Award for Sibelius's cantatas recorded with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra; Artist of the Year in 2015 by the British magazine Gramophone and the French magazine Diapason; and the Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Ministry of Culture for his contribution to French music. He also received the 2015 Sibelius Medal for his promotion of the work of the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius and was awarded the Hindemith Prize for Arts and Humanities in 2012. As a staunch supporter of Estonian culture, Paavo Järvi was awarded the Order of the White Star by the President of Estonia in 2013 for his outstanding contribution to Estonian culture.

Artist

Julia Hagen

“Naturalness, sincerity, abundant vitality and a spirit of adventure” – these are the qualities that are mentioned when Julia Hagen's playing is discussed. The young cellist from Salzburg, Austria, impresses with her musicality, whether she is performing with an orchestra, in a duo with a piano or in chamber music with renowned artists. Julia Hagen, 29, lives in Vienna and has won wide acclaim for her virtuosity, artistic ambition and direct, communicative playing style.

Julia Hagen is the winner of the UBS Young Artist Award 2024, which includes a concert with the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Christian Thielemann at the Lucerne Festival.

Julia Hagen's highlights in the 2024/25 season also include performances with the European Chamber Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Chamber Orchestra and the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. Particularly noteworthy is her US debut with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst.

She will also be returning to the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg and the Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and will be performing with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla at the Konzerthaus in Vienna.

Julia Hagen began playing the cello at the age of five. She currently plays a cello made by Francesco Ruggeri (Cremona 1684), which has been made available to her by a private individual.

Performing group

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Since its foundation in 1932 by Sir Thomas Beecham, the London Philharmonic Orchestra has been regarded as one of the world's leading orchestras for its unique spirit of innovation and captivating performances. With every performance, the London Philharmonic Orchestra strives to bring wonder to the modern world and to consolidate its position as one of the leading orchestras of the 21st century.

The orchestra is based at the Royal Festival Hall, at the heart of London's Southbank cultural district. The orchestra also performs at its home venues in Brighton, Eastbourne and the Savoy Theatre in Woldford, and tours the UK and the world, delighting audiences across the globe. Every summer, the London Philharmonic Orchestra performs at the opera house of the Glyndebourne Festival.   The orchestra is also active on the internet, streaming platforms and in broadcast partnerships with Marquee TV. It releases live, studio and archive recordings on its own record label, and its content is streamed worldwide more than 15 million times a month, making it the most streamed orchestra in the world.

The London Philharmonic Orchestra's chief conductors have included some of the greatest conductors in history, including Sir Adrian Boult, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti, Klaus Tennstedt and Kurt Masur. In 2021, Edward Gardner became the orchestra's 13th chief conductor, and Vladimir Jurowski was also awarded the title of honorary conductor for his profound influence as chief conductor from 2007 to 2021.

Committed to inspiring the next generation of musicians and music lovers, the London Philharmonic Orchestra takes great pleasure in seeing young people and families enjoy their first musical experiences. The orchestra is passionate about supporting schools and teachers through school concerts, training and arts resources. Upholding the values of collaboration and inclusivity, the orchestra's OrchLab and Open Sound Ensemble projects provide opportunities for adults and young people with special educational needs and disabilities to create music.

Today's young instrumentalists are the core members of the orchestra of the future, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra provides a variety of opportunities for their growth. The “London Philharmonic Young Artist” and “London Philharmonic Conducting Fellowship” programs have led the way in creating career paths for young artists from minority groups, while the “London Philharmonic Young Composer” and Foyle Future Firsts programs support the next generation of professional musicians and bridge the transition from education to a career.

Repertoire

January 4

The Bartered Bride Overture Smetana

Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104 Dvořák

— Intermission —

Enigma Variations, Op. 36 Elgar

January 5

Oberon Overture Weber

Concerto for Cello No. 1 in C major, Hob VIIb:1, by Haydn

– Intermission –

Symphony No. 4 in F minor by Tchaikovsky