Veteran conductor Neeme Järvi has led many orchestras in Europe and the U.S. over a career stretching back to the 1950s. With his children now as rivals, he has remained a busy star on the international conducting scene well into his eighties, and he is among the most prolific conductors of modern times in the recording studio.

Born in the Estonian capital of Tallinn on June 7, 1937, and brought up within the Soviet Union's system for developing musical talent, Järvi studied percussion and conducting at the Tallinn Music School. He made his debut as a conductor at age 18. From 1955 to 1960, he pursued further studies at the Leningrad Conservatory, where his principal teachers were Nikolaï Rabinovich and Yevgeny Mravinsky. Järvi took a leading role in the musical life of his homeland. In 1963, he assumed the directorship of the Estonian Radio & Television Orchestra, his first important post. He also founded the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and, for 13 years, was the chief conductor of Opera House Estonia in Tallinn. From 1976 to 1980, he was chief conductor and artistic director of the Estonian State Symphony Orchestra, then in its infancy. By the late '70s, his fame had spread throughout the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and he received favorable notices for his appearances in the West. He made history by leading the first performances of Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier and Gershwin's Porgy and Bess ever given in the USSR.

Järvi developed a particular interest in unearthing and performing neglected repertory by both little-known and important composers, and his recorded output in this area dates back to well before Estonia's independence. He began recording for the BIS label in the early '80s. He was a champion of the Estonian composers Eduard Tubin and Arvo Pärt. In 1979, he premiered Pärt's Credo, a work that represents a turning point in that composer's stylistic evolution. Järvi, recognizing the importance of Credo (which incorporates biblical texts), presented it without first navigating through the usual channels of the Communist Party or the Composers' Union. The resulting controversy and official disfavor induced Järvi to emigrate. He was permitted to leave Estonia in 1980; within a month of his departure, he made his debut performances with the Boston Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New York Philharmonic. He quickly received important appointments: principal guest conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in England (1981-1983) and the Japan Philharmonic; music director of the Royal Scottish Orchestra (1984-1988) and the Gothenburg (Sweden) Symphony Orchestra (1982-2004). Järvi became an American citizen in 1985. In 1990, he assumed the post of music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, remaining there until 2005. He led that ensemble through a troubled period and made some 30 recordings with the group on the Chandos label. He has also served as principal conductor of the New Jersey Symphony, the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague, and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.

Järvi's concert appearances gradually slowed as he approached his ninth decade, but his recorded legacy has continued to grow at an impressive pace. For the BIS label, he recorded a great deal of unfamiliar Scandinavian music with various orchestras from the 1980s to the 2020s. Järvi has also recorded for Deutsche Grammophon and Orfeo. His recording projects include cycles of orchestral music by Sibelius, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and others. In late Romantic repertory, especially from France and the Scandinavian countries, he remains one of the world's great specialists, and he has maintained relationships with many of the ensembles he has headed. The year 2016 alone saw no fewer than seven new releases, including the continuation of a symphony cycle devoted to composer Kurt Atterberg, recorded with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. Devoting himself mostly to substantial symphonic works, Järvi nevertheless did not disdain lighter fare; in 2015, he released, with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the album A Festival of Fucik, devoted to the composer of the familiar circus march Entry of the Gladiators. He remains a fixture of Chandos' catalog, issuing a pair of new albums on the label, one of orchestral works by composers Artur Kapp, Mihkel Lüdig, and Artur Lemba, and the other of ballet music by Léo Delibes in 2020. He made several recordings during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2023, he led the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, backing pianist Anna Shelest in a recording of the first two piano concertos of Anton Rubinstein. By that time, Järvi's recording catalog comprised more than 400 albums.

Järvi's children have made their mark on the musical world as well: sons Paavo and Kristjan have gained international reputations as conductors. Daughter Maarika was the principal flutist with the RTVE Symphony Orchestra in Madrid. Neeme has written an Estonian-language memoir, Kunstniku elu (The Maestro's Touch). ~ James Manheim & Joseph Stevenson

Like the city of Detroit itself, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra has had to deal with many difficulties, from disintegrating venues to financial crises. Through all of its trials and tribulations, the DSO has maintained a consistently high level of musicianship and technical skill, directly representative of the many distinguished conductors who have directed the group.

The DSO was founded in 1914 by ten young society women who each contributed $100 to the enterprise and secured $10 commitments from 100 other people. Weston Gales was hired to conduct, and the DSO played its first concert on February 26, 1914. Gales' name is not much remembered in Detroit. The orchestra blossomed with the appointment of the pianist Ossip Gabrilowitsch as the music director in 1918. Gabrilowitsch encouraged the construction of Orchestra Hall, which was immediately hailed for its fine acoustics. He also raised the DSO's profile nationally and internationally through concertizing and (especially) radio broadcasts. With Gabrilowitsch conducting and famed pianist Artur Schnabel playing, the DSO took part in the world's first radio broadcast of a symphonic concert in 1922; later, the DSO was featured on the nationally broadcast Ford Symphony Hour. Unfortunately, two years after Gabrilowitsch died in 1937, Orchestra Hall was closed due to a lack of funds to maintain it. The orchestra went through a difficult stretch, during which it was disbanded twice, until the 1951 hiring of conductor Paul Paray. Paray's mastery of French repertoire brought international attention to the DSO; during his tenure, some claimed the world's best French orchestral music was actually performed in Detroit. Paray led the DSO on 70 recordings for the Mercury label, winning several awards. He was succeeded by distinguished musician Sixten Ehrling, but then the orchestra went through another down period in the 1970s. Antal Dorati was brought in to lead in 1977, but financial problems crippled the orchestra. These problems continued through 1987 when the orchestra's cumulative deficits reached $8 million; its endowment was only $14 million. The musicians stopped work for 12 weeks, claiming that both management and current music director Gunther Herbig were inept. Finally, both sides made concessions; Herbig was dismissed and replaced with esteemed conductor Neeme Järvi, while the orchestra's musicians accepted a substantial pay cut.

Meanwhile, a "Committee to Save Orchestra Hall" had staved off numerous attempts by the city to demolish the now-decrepit structure and managed to raise enough funds to restore it to its former glory. In 1989, the DSO moved back in. With Järvi's creative, stimulating direction drawing in the ticket buyers, and the glorious old-new hall proving an eminently suitable recording venue, the DSO took steps toward financial rejuvenation. The DSO recorded for Chandos with Järvi and was heard on General Motors' nationally broadcast "Mark of Excellence" radio series. In 2003, the DSO successfully opened the Max M. Fischer Music Center, which includes the modernized Orchestra Hall, a second performance hall, and an education center, even as Järvi announced his departure at the end of the 2004-2005 season.

Leonard Slatkin was named music director in 2008. Under his leadership, the orchestra has continued to showcase its excellence through its concert series at Orchestra Hall, free community concerts, radio broadcasts, streaming concert videos through its website, and its still-prolific recording output. Slatkin stepped down as music director in 2018 but has remained active as music director laureate. The DSO, under Slatkin, recorded mainly for the Naxos label, on which it released the album Copland: Billy the Kid; Grohg in 2019. This recording was nominated for a Grammy award. In January 2020, the DSO announced Jader Bignamini as its next music director, beginning with the 2020-2021 season. ~ Andrew Lindemann Malone & Keith Finke