Estonian National Symphony Orchestra

The orchestra takes its history to the first concert broadcast on Tallinn Radio, which took place on December 18, 1926 : the piano trio was compiled specifically for this occasion, the violinist Hugo Schütz (in charge of music broadcasting for the next three years), cellist Alfred Vaarman and pianist Anna Savitskaya performed works by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , Friedrich Eberle and Raymond Kull ^[1] .

The composition of the musical group at Tallinn Radio grew rapidly and by 1939 reached 39 musicians. Among the invited conductors who performed with the orchestra were Nikolai Malko , Valerian Berdyaev , Isai Dobrovein , German Abendrot , Albert Coates ; concerts from their works were conducted by Alexander Glazunov and Igor Stravinsky . In 1939 , the orchestra received the first chief conductor - they became the talented young Estonian musician Olav Roots ; his name is associated, in particular, the Estonian premiere of the Fifth Symphony by Dmitry Shostakovich given in the same year. A close commonwealth linked the leading Estonian composer Eduard Tubin with the orchestra: four of his symphonies were first performed by the orchestra conducted by Roots ^[2] .

The Tallinn Radio Orchestra continued to perform in Estonia during the Second World War . At the same time, in Yaroslavl in 1942 , a small orchestra was created from the Estonian musicians mobilized into the Soviet Army, led by the young Roman Matsov . In 1944 , the Yaroslavl team returned to Estonia and connected with those musicians of the Tallinn team who did not leave Estonia.

Since the mid-1950s, with the efforts of conductor Roman Matsov , the orchestra was one of the few collectives in the Soviet Union to perform works by such contemporary composers as Igor Stravinsky , Arnold Schoenberg , Anton Webern and Karl Orff , who were considered modernists in the USSR. The orchestra constantly turned to the music of Dmitry Shostakovich and the works of leading Estonian composers, including still performing music by Eduard Tubin, despite his emigration. In 1972 , the first foreign tour of the orchestra took place (in Romania and Bulgaria), the team also toured extensively throughout the USSR. In 1975 , the orchestra received its current name (in the Soviet period, the word Riiklik in the title was translated as State ).

Estonian independence in 1991 led to a massive departure of orchestra musicians to Europe and the USA in search of a better career, and the beginning of the 1990s. became the most difficult period in the history of the orchestra, however, through the efforts of the new leader Arvo Volmer, the crisis was overcome. Since 2001 , the team has been led by Russian conductor Nikolai Alekseev , leading Estonian specialists appear at the console, including those who work constantly in other countries. In 2004 , the recording of cantatas by Jan Sibelius , performed with the participation of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paavo Järvi , received a Grammy Award in the nomination “Best Recording of Choral Music”. In 2006 , the orchestra, led by Olari Elts, performed works by Arvo Pärt in the Turin Cathedral as part of the cultural program of the Winter Olympic Games .

• Olav Roots ( 1939 - 1944 )
• Paul Carp ( 1944 - 1950 )
• Roman Matsov ( 1950 - 1963 )
• Neeme Järvi ( 1963 - 1979 )
• Peeter Lillie ( 1980 - 1990 )
• Leo Kremer ( 1991 - 1993 )
• Arvo Volmer ( Est. Arvo Volmer ) ( 1993 - 2001 )
• Nikolay Alekseev ( 2001 - 2010 )
• Neeme Järvi (August - November 2010 ) ^[3]

String

• Hugo Schutz ( violin )

Woodwind

• Samuel Saulus ( flute )
• Arnold Sepp ( flute )
• Herman Talmre ( oboe )
• Johan Kalyaspoolik ( clarinet )
• Elmar Milkop ( bassoon )
• Sergey Prokhorov ( bassoon )
• Eugen Saanpere ( bassoon )

Brass

• Arnold Treymouth ( French Horn )
• Abi Zader ( trumpet )
• Vootel Tamm ( trumpet )

• The official website of the orchestra (English) (est.)
• Toomas Velmet. Estonian National Symphony Orchestra 80 (link unavailable )