Estonian-born Conductor Kristjan Järvi moved to New York as a child. He studied piano with Nina Svetlanova at the Manhattan School of Music where he also founded the award-winning Absolute Ensemble. After graduate conducting studies at the University of Michigan, Järvi was Assistant-Conductor to Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He went on to take up the posts of Chief Conductor and Music Director of Norrlands Opera and Symphony Orchestra, Sweden (2000-2004) and Tonkünstler Orchestra, Vienna (2004-2009). Kristjan Järvi is also Artistic Advisor to the Basel Chamber Orchestra. Järvi’s passion for new music has resulted in the commission of more than 100 works by composers including Arvo Pärt, HK Gruber, Erkki-Sven Tüur and Daniel Schnyder. He has recorded more than 20 albums for which he has received a list of accolades, including the German Record Critics Prize and a Swedish Grammy. In 2007 Deutsche Bank awarded Kristjan Järvi the “Deutsche Bank Priz e” at Musikfest Bremen in recognition of outstanding musical achievement and artistic vision. *** Founded by Kristjan Järvi in 1993, Absolute Ensemble has become one of the foremost chamber Ensembles in the world. Founded on the premise of “Music without Borders”, the ensemble seeks to bridge gaps between all genres in music. Absolute Ensemble has an expansive touring schedule to all corners of the globe, as well as maintaining both its New York presence and a European base at Musikfest Bremen, Germany. In 2007 Kristjan Järvi and Absolute Ensemble were awarded the Deutsche Bank Prize at Musikfest Bremen for outstanding musical achievement. Absolute Ensemble’s previous 8 recordings have received the German Record Critic’s Prize and a Grammy Nomination. The Ensemble members combine the roles of performer, composer, arranger and improviser to promote a truly unique approach to making music. This approach is taught annually at the Bremen University for Music and Art “Absolute Academy”.
American pianist Simone Dinnerstein has fast been gaining international attention since making a triumphant New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall in 2005, performing Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Recent and upcoming performances include Ms. Dinnerstein’s recital debuts at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Lincoln Center Mostly Mozart Festival, the Aspen and Ravinia festivals, in Cologne, Paris, London, Copenhagen, Vilnius, Bremen, Rome, and Lisbon, and at the Stuttgart Bach Festival; as well as debut performances with the Dresden Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Kristjan Järvi’s Absolute Ensemble, the Baltimore Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, and the Minnesota Orchestra. Last year she performed on the People’s Symphony series at Town Hall and on Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series in New York, and this year she will perform her third recital at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In July 2009, she will make her debut with the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall.
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