The Estonian Festival Orchestra, led by Paavo Järvi, makes its North American debut at Carnegie Hall on 23 October, joining the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and soloists Midori, Hans Christian Aavik and Nico Muhly in a sweeping celebration of Arvo Pärt’s 90th birthday.
On 23 October, the Estonian Festival Orchestra, led by Paavo Järvi, takes the stage at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage in New York City for its long-awaited North American debut, joined by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and a stellar lineup of soloists: violinists Midori and Hans Christian Aavik, and composer-pianist Nico Muhly.
The evening is part of Carnegie Hall’s Arvo Pärt Composer Focus, a global celebration of the Estonian master whose tintinnabuli style transformed modern sacred music – and who celebrated his 90th birthday on 11 September. The programme is a journey through six decades of Pärt’s creative evolution – from the early minimal pulse of Perpetuum mobile to the searing conviction of Credo and the meditative grace of Fratres and Tabula Rasa. Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, Adam’s Lament, La Sindone and Swansong complete a portrait of an artist who made quietness revolutionary.
The next night, 24 October, the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, led by Tõnu Kaljuste, performs at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and soprano Maria Listra. Together, they will continue the homage to Pärt – a composer who, like Estonia itself, has learned to speak profoundly through restraint.
For Paavo Järvi, this Carnegie moment has been years in the making. When he founded the Estonian Festival Orchestra in 2011 as the resident ensemble of the Pärnu Music Festival, he envisioned a bridge: bringing together the finest Estonian talent with leading international players. The result has been what The Arts Desk called “one of the world’s great orchestras,” praised for its “breathtaking energy and virtuosity.”
“There isn’t a hint of a hothouse environment on stage,” wrote BBC Music Magazine. “These are simply musicians having the time of their lives.”
Järvi’s orchestra has since conquered Europe’s major halls – from Berlin to Vienna to London’s Royal Albert Hall, where they became the first Estonian ensemble to perform at the BBC Proms. This autumn, they returned to European stages to mark Pärt’s milestone birthday, before crossing the Atlantic for their Carnegie debut.
Later this year, Alpha Classics will release Credo, the Estonian Festival Orchestra’s sixth album and a tribute to Pärt’s 90th. Recorded live at the 2025 Pärnu Music Festival, it spans ten of his iconic works, including the world premiere recording of Silouette, dedicated to Paavo Järvi, and Credo, first introduced to the world by his father Neeme Järvi in 1968.
