"These concerts give us a unique chance to put Estonia on the map, because we have the composer Arvo Pärt, whom everyone knows and wants to celebrate," said conductor Paavo Järvi.

The tour simultaneously allows Estonia to showcase its musicians in some of the world's top cultural centers.

"There's no better way to promote Estonia than having a giant poster on the wall of Carnegie Hall that reads in big letters: Estonian Festival Orchestra," he added.

Pärt's music will be performed next at Vienna's Konzerthaus (October 18), Zurich's Tonhalle (October 19) and Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie (October 20), with the tour culminating October 23 at Carnegie Hall.

Joining the orchestra will be violinists Midori and Hans Christian Aavik, pianist Nico Muhly, conductor Tõnu Kaljuste and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir (EFK).

"This tour is the Estonian Festival Orchestra's eighth, but certainly most important so far," said orchestra director Andres Siitan. "Many members of the orchestra have performed at Carnegie Hall before, but going there this time as the Estonian Festival Orchestra is an extremely big deal."

Wednesday night's concert was broadcast on Klassikaraadio — listen again here.

90th birthday celebrations continue

Internationally acclaimed Estonian composer Arvo Pärt turned 90 on September 11.

To mark the maestro's jubilee 90th, ERR is presenting a series of special programming (link in Estonian) across its TV channels and radio stations dedicated to Pärt's life and work.

A curated playlist is also available on ERR's online streaming platform, Jupiter.

Click here for a full biography and here for a full list of Arvo Pärt 90 concerts and events at the Arvo Pärt Center, across Estonia and worldwide.

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