September 20th at 5 PM Tallinn Philharmonic House of the Blackheads
Estonian Sinfonietta season 2026/2027 opening concert
IMMORTAL I. BEETHOVEN & RÄÄTS
Peeter Margus, violin
Estonian Sinfonietta
Jaan Ots, piano, conductor
Estonian Sinfonietta is launching its 10th season with a new concert series titled, “Immortal. Beethoven.”
March 26, 2027, marks the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s passing. Of course, his music is performed daily in concert halls around the world, regardless of major anniversaries. In fact, this Estonian Sinfonietta series grew organically out of conversations with pianists we simply wanted to make music with. It is a complete coincidence that these concerts fall during the season marking the 200-year anniversary of the composer's death, but this milestone ultimately inspired the name of the series.
Taking the stage as soloists are four of Estonia’s most distinct pianists: Jaan Ots, Age Juurikas, Johan Randvere, and Sten Heinoja. They will be joined by Berlin-based pianist Haiou Zhang, an internationally acclaimed interpreter of Beethoven, who played works by the composer for Estonian audiences a few years ago in his solo recital, "Farewell." For the grand finale, Hans Christian Aavik will perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto.
Jaan Ots will serve as the conductor for the series, and will also be the featured soloist for the opening concert.
Tickets available at Piletilevi.
October 25th 2026 at 17 Blackheads House, Tallinn
CONCERTO GROSSO III. EINO TAMBERG
Maila Laidna, piano
Kristin Müürsepp, flute
Soo-Young Lee, clarinet
Rene Laur, saxophone
Stefan Heinrich Kerstan, bassoon
Mart Kivi, trumpet
Estonian Percussion Group
Estonian Sinfonietta
Concertmaster Klaus-Peter Haav
Conductor Maria Seletskaja
Eino Tamberg: ”Actually, I had no intention to write a concerto grosso; I just wanted to write a concerto. Since there were many skilful wind players in the Symphony orchestra of the Estonian Radio, I decided to use a wind ensemble. To get some edginess into the sound and rhythm, I added the piano and percussion. The title turned out wordy: „Concerto for five wind instrument, piano, percussion and string orchestra”. Only then did it come to my mind that at one time such ensemble concertos were called concerto grosso. This title may have influenced the style of the work. However, I had nothing to do with renewing an old genre. I merely wrote the kind of music I needed at that time.”
Concerto grosso proved to be extraordinarily popular. In 1957, it was awarded a Gold Medal at the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students. Thanks to this, the Concerto grosso was performed in both Eastern and Western Europe, laying the foundation for Tamberg's distinguished international career as a composer.
The evening will feature another work that has won a Best Musical Composition award. In 1984, this title was awarded by the expert council of the Tartu Pop Music Days to the humorous and innovative Typewriter Concerto in D by Eino Tamberg's student, Alo Mattiisen. This marked the beginning of Alo Mattiisen's meteoric rise on the Estonian music scene.
Tickets available at Piletilevi.
November 22nd at 16 Arvo Pärt Centre, Laulasmaa
IMMORTAL II. BEETHOVEN & PÄRT
Age Juurikas, piano
Haiou Zhang, piano, Germany
Estonian Sinfonietta Soloists
Peeter Margus, violin
Valeria Rjumina, violin
Helena Altmanis, viola
Andreas Lend, violoncello
Janel Altroff, double bass
Delightfully intimate Beethoven!
At the second concert of the series ”Immortal” will be performed Beethoven’s piano concertos in a chamber arrangement by Vinzenz Lachner (1811–1893), where the pianist’s stage partner is a string quintet instead of an orchestra. Beethoven himself also arranged his orchestral works for chamber music ensembles in order to better introduce them to the audience. The most striking example here is the 2nd Symphony, which the composer arranged for a piano trio!
In addition to the piano concertos, the evening program includes the most intimate of chamber music – Arvo Pärt's works for string quartet, a rare genre among the composer's works.
Tickets available at Piletilevi.