The Pärnu Music Festival
Top concerts on the Baltic coast Pärnu is only a couple of hours’ drive from the Estonian capital Tallinn, but it seems a world away. A spa town on the Baltic coast, blessed with beautiful sandy beaches and warm waters, it was the summer holiday destination of choice for composer Dmitri Shostakovich and violinist David Oistrakh – Oistrakh loved it so much that he bought a house on Toominga St, just around the cormer from the celebrated Tervis Spa. Its combination of beautiful architecture and fine climate were major draws, of course, but Pärnu pulled off the trick of maintaining its Soviet flavour while wearing the mask of a more relaxed ‘western’ town. Today, Pärnu is just as attractive to the Finns and Swedes as it is to the Estonians and gets busy in the summer months.
So, a fantastic location for a summer festival – not least one that features the entire Järvi family, from Paavo’s children to his esteemed father, Neeme. The cautiously good news is that this year’s festival is expected to go ahead as planned, running 16-23 July. Paavo, Neeme and Kristjan (Paavo’s brother) Järvi will all be there to participate in conducting masterclasses, although audiences will be much reduced for the live concerts – the Estonian government has ruled that indoor events be limited to 500 people, while outdoor concerts will be able to host up to 1,000. Concerts, therefore, will be live-streamed, and the original programme will be greatly changed. For updated information, visit the festival website at www.parnumusicfestival.ee.