Paavo in Estonia

PÄRNU and TALLINN, ESTONIA
   Who can resist Santa Claus?
   Not Paavo Järvi, who got a great big hug from Robert Kasemägi after conducting the Estonian National Symphony in Pärnu, Estonia Feb. 20.
   Kasemägi, a former French horn player with the Estonian Opera Orchestra and an old friend of the Järvi family, used to dress up as Santa Claus for Neeme Järvi's children Paavo, Maarika and Kristjan.
   Fans mill around the Cincinnati Symphony music director, seeking autographs for their copies of his new CD with the Estonian orchestra (ENSO), an all Arvo Pärt album including Pärt's Symphony No. 3.
   "See how western we've become," he said gleefully.
   Järvi is richly enjoying his visit to his homeland, which he left at 17 when his father emigrated from Estonia to the United States. While in Estonia, he will conduct concerts at Tallinn's "Estonia" Concert Hall and the brand new Pärnu Concert Hall, which opened in December.
   Though he is artistic advisor of the ENSO, a two-year post he accepted last fall, Järvi returns to Estonia for sentimental reasons as well. It shows in every observation he makes, whether it's identifying a building or his relish for Estonian "comfort" food (salted fish on rye bread, roast potatoes, red wine).
   As artistic advisor of the ENSO, Järvi leads two concerts a year, each linked to a recording. It's a flexible arrangement, which he can vary to meet his primary obligation to the CSO. Still, it's a labor of love, which he hopes will raise the international profile of the orchestra and increase support for it at home.
   On Dec. 30, Järvi's 40th birthday, the Estonian Cultural Foundation awarded him a prize for "his remarkable performances of Estonian music abroad."
   These include performances with the CSO, where he has introduced music by Estonian composers Eduard Tubin, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Arvo Pärt and Lepo Sumera. The CSO's Telarc CD of Tubin's Symphony No. 5 (with Sibelius' Second Symphony) has sold over 8,000 copies -- a lot for a classical recording -- since its release last fall.
   Järvi gave the prize money to the ENSO (25,000 Estonian kroons, or approx. $1800, "which for the orchestra is a lot," said an ENSO official).
   Arriving in Estonia in winter, when the long nights and short days dampen people's moods, Järvi is like a shot of adrenalin. He's a hard worker ("tough" is how ENSO producer/ acting director Kersti Kirs put it) and the orchestra is thrilled to have him back.
   Posters advertising the concert are everywhere, on buildings, in shop windows. The poster reads "Fantasy with Paavo Järvi" (the name of the orchestra series on which he is appearing). The ENSO, said Ms. Kirs, has been taking marketing hints from the CSO, which organizes its season into series with titles like "Ovation," "Crescendo" and "Rhapsody."
   During his visit, Järvi made a recording with the ENSO that will include Arvo Pärt's Symphony No. 2 and his "Collage on B.A.C.H." He recorded Sibelius cantatas with the orchestra in October. A prior recording, Sibelius' "Maiden in the Tower" was released last spring (all for Virgin Classics).
   Neeme Järvi, one of the world's most famous Estonians, raised the ENSO to international prominence during his 17 years as music director (1963-80). It fell on hard times, however, after Estonia gained its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
   Forty percent of the orchestra musicians left for career opportunities abroad, said ENSO general manager Andres Siitan, who is spending this season as a Vilar Arts Management Fellow at Washington's Kennedy Center. "The difference in salary was about 30 or 40 times," he said.
   "Then young people came, mostly students, so now we have a very young orchestra, and it's very good." The orchestra's new music director, Russian born Nikolai Alexeev, is broadening its appeal to Estonia's important Russian-speaking community.
   The "Estonia" is a handsome Jugendstil building dating from 1913. Its two matching wings accomodate orchestra concerts and opera/ballet performances. (This reporter got lost and found herself wandering among the "Boris Godunov" cast in the opera wing.)
   The Concert Hall, a gracious "shoebox" design with a gallery around the perimeter, seats 889. Estonian pianist Vardo Rumessen, director of Estonia's annual Eduard Tubin Festival, pointed out the seat Järvi always occupied as a child -- in the gallery just above the stage, where he could watch his father conduct.
   Järvi expends few words rehearsing the orchestra. It's business without banter, though the atmosphere is cordial. The musicians are attentive and serious. Program for the concerts is Dukas' "Sorcerer's Apprentice," Bizet's Symphony in C Major, Pärt's Symphony No. 2 and Ravel's "Bolero."
   Outside the hall, Tallinn is clad in ice and snow. Temperatures are sub-zero (centigrade). The Bay of Tallinn is frozen. Fishermen can be seen dangling lines through holes in the ice. Footing can be treacherous, especially on the cobblestoned streets of the Old Town, the city's exquisitely preserved historic district dating from the 14th century. People are swathed in woolen hats and scarves, expressions set in the face of the Nordic wind.
   On Thursday the 20th, the orchestra readies for the two-hour bus ride to Pärnu, a seaside resort of 45,000 that quintuples in the summer. Orchestra manager Rein Malksoo packs a half dozen squeaker toys for use in the Part Symphony. "They were bought at pet stores in Cincinnati," said Järvi, since hamburgers and hot dogs are hard to find in Estonia. Pärt's searing 1966 symphony is unique for its use of squeakers and cellophane as expressive elements.
   On the way to Pärnu, we pass the Kosmos, a movie theater where Järvi spent many hours as a youth watching movies like "The Sound of Music" on a huge screen. Grey, deteriorating buildings from the Soviet era dominate the landscape out of Tallinn. Järvi points out a hospital where he was once treated for an allergic reaction. Juniper forests line the roadway to Pärnu. Across the bridge into the city stands the glittering, oval-shaped hall framed in glass on all sides. It is the first time Järvi has seen it. "I make my debut at the Pärnu Concert Hall tonight," he chuckled.
   Järvi spent many happy days as a child at the family's summer house outside Pärnu. "My grandmother lived here," he said. He, his parents and two siblings come back each summer for the annual David Oistrakh Festival in Pärnu. Järvi's mother Liilia is a regular at Pärnu's famous Tervis spa. Neeme holds master classes for conductors during the festival.
   At this time of year, Pärnu is filled with the scent of wood stoves. "You don't smell this anywhere else," said Järvi.
   The hall in Pärnu (800 seats) is not full. but the audience is warm and appreciative. Audiences in Estonia are "a problem," said Siitan. After Estonian independence "support for culture was less, so every promoter had to raise ticket prices. People who used to go to concerts just stopped. Even now it's really a problem for retired people because pensions are so low."
   Average age of the ENSO audience is 30 to 35 (20 years younger than symphony audiences in the U.S.). "For people who are retired, it's hard for them to afford," he said. Ticket prices for ENSO concerts range from 50 to 100 kroons ($3.50-$7, half price for students and pensioners).
   Audiences are also unpredictable because people buy tickets at the last minute, said Aivar Mäe, director of Eesti Kontsert, the agency that manages concerts and facilities in Estonia. Estonia has five orchestras for its 1.3 million people. "In Tallinn, we have six, seven big concerts a week, plus opera every day and six theaters with two performances a day. There's a lot to choose from."
   This was not a worry for Järvi in Tallinn. His concert Feb. 21 was sold out with standing room only -- just the way it was when his father conducted there. "He was a big star in Estonia," said Järvi.
   Neeme Järvi has brought his orchestras to Estonia: the Detroit Symphony (where he is music director), Sweden's Gothenburg Symphony (principal conductor) and the Japan Philharmonic (principal guest conductor).
   Järvi would like nothing better than to bring the CSO to his native land. "It just takes money," he said.
(first published in The Cincinnati Post March 7, 2003)