Paavo Järvi
(c) Julia Bayer
The governors of the Sibelius Society have awarded the Sibelius Medal to the Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi. The medal will be presented to him in Paris by the Finnish Ambassador to France, Risto Piipponen, at the opening concert of the new season of the Orchestre de Paris on September 9, on which occasion the orchestra will perform Sibelius’s Symphony no. 5.
The Sibelius Society commented: “Paavo Järvi has promoted the music of Sibelius with great talent in concerts which he has conducted throughout the world and particularly in France. With his passion and drive he is making history by recording the complete Sibelius symphony cycle with the Orchestre de Paris – a project so far never undertaken by any other French orchestra. His existing discography includes important Sibelius recordings which have gained international critical acclaim, including the release of the Cantatas with the National Estonian Orchestra and Estonian choirs on Erato which received a Grammy. »
This is the second time the Sibelius Medal is awarded to a conductor this year which celebrates the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Sir Simon Rattle, chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, received the medal in May in Berlin.
