Famous conductor recovers from stroke

TALLINN - Neeme Jarvi, Estonian-born and world-renowned music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, was released from hospital in Helsinki on Aug. 1, after surgery for a ruptured blood vessel. He fell unconscious after suffering a stroke in his hotel room in Parnu on July 9 and was immediately taken to Parnu Hospital.

As the facilities at Parnu Hospital were not sufficient to gauge the extent of the damage, Jarvi, 64, was transferred to Mustamae Hospital in Tallinn. On July 15, he was admitted to Helsinki University Central Hospital, where he underwent surgery two days later to repair an aneurysm of the vertebral artery.

His family and doctors who attended to him in Finland reported earlier to Baltic News Service that he was doing well and would be able to get back to a normal life in about two months.

Since 1982, Jarvi has been the conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra of Sweden. In Europe he appears regularly with the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Dresden Staatskapelle, the Orchestre National de France and the Orchestre de Paris.

In June 1990 he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He is also the guest conductor of the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in Tokyo. In the U.S., Jarvi became the 11th music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra on September 1,1990.

Internationally acclaimed for his performances with orchestras and opera houses around the world, Jarvi is one of today's most sought-after conductors. He makes annual appearances conducting the New York Philharmonic and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Jarvi has also recorded many award-winning discs for the Chandos, BIS, Orfeo and Deutsche Gramophon labels. He is the most recorded conductor in the world, and has more than 300 recordings.

Eri Klas, conductor of the Estonian National Symphonic Orchestra and who has worked closely with Jarvi, told The Baltic Times, "Jarvi is a class apart, both as a musician and as a human being."

Going down memory lane, he said, "We were born on the same date, June 7, but I'm two years younger than him. He is ahead of me in age and abilities, so I've always followed him."

Jarvi became the chief conductor of the Estonian Opera in 1963 and later the chief conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra. In 1980, he emigrated to the United States mainly for political reasons.

Klas said with admiration: "He's a fantastic musician with a wide repertoire, from vocal to symphonic to opera. Success in no way changed him. He is still the same person he used to be when we were both students. The music world is already missing him; I wish him a speedy recovery so he can start conducting again."