Baltic Youth Philharmonic Led by Kristjan J��rvi to open the Usedom Music Festival

New youth orchestra of the Baltic region wraps second season with a September 19th Performance at Peenem��nde

North German Radio to broadcast concert in this historic space

The seventy young musicians of the Baltic Youth Philharmonic have had a thrilling second season of music-making bringing their ���extraordinary sound��� (Weser Kurier) to six countries this summer: Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, Denmark and Germany. On September 19, 2009, the Baltic Youth Philharmonic will open the 16th Usedom Music Festival, performing in the historic turbine hall at the Peenem��nde Museum. This former Third Reich weapons research and testing facility on the island of Usedom in Germany has now been reimagined as a monument of peace and remembrance. This performance will be recorded for broadcast on North German Radio (NDR) and will be distributed to radio stations worldwide through the European Broadcasting Union.

The Baltic Youth Philharmonic will present Symphony No. 1 by Johannes Brahms, Symphony No. 5 by Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky, the Overture Das M��rchen von der sch��nen Melusine by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy as well as Ludwig van Beethoven���s Concerto Opus 61 in a version for piano and orchestra by Beethoven himself. The cadenzas of the concerto, more commonly known in its version for violin and orchestra, were written specifically for the Baltic Youth Philharmonic by Lithuanian composer Anatolijus Senderovas. Swedish pianist Peter Jablonski premieres this new version of the concerto.

During their summer 2009 performances, the Baltic Youth Philharmonic was warmly greeted by audiences and journalists alike. The Weser-Kurier Bremen said the Baltic Youth Philharmonic ���knows how to put a spell on an audience,��� while the orchestra was also praised for their ���sheer joy of playing��� (Nordkurier) and a sound which is ���very cultivated, but at the same time passionate��� (Ostsee Zeitung).

The Baltic Youth Orchestra is an innovative training orchestra founded in the summer of 2008 as a joint initiative between the Usedom Music Festival and Nord Stream AG and led by Founding Conductor and Music Director Kristjan J��rvi. The Baltic Youth Philharmonic brings together the most promising young musicians ranging in age from 18-30 from music academies in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Germany to create A New Voice in the North, an experience that draws upon the richness of the region���s diversity. Since April 2009, the Baltic Youth Philharmonic is an associate member of the European Federation of National Youth Orchestras (EFNYO).

Together with the North German Radio (NDR), the Usedom Music Festival initiated a series of concerts at Peenem��nde in 2002 with a performance of Benjamin Britten���s War Requiem conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich. The Peenem��nde Concerts are now the highlights of the annual festival, marking a new chapter in the history of the place. In the former electricity plant serving the production of rockets, a new generation of young musicians now gather to make music in this historic context.

The Baltic Youth Philharmonic is a joint initiative of the Usedom Music Festival and Nord Stream AG. The Orchestra was founded in 2008 to create a sound for the Baltic region: A New Voice in the North.

www.baltic-youth-philharmonic.org

Usedom Music Festival

The sound of the Baltic Sea has been heard for the past 15 years on the island of Usedom. Every year in the late summer, the Usedom Music Festival devotes itself to the cultural region around the Baltic Sea. Thus, it has presented the musical life of Russia, Poland, the Baltic States, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Soloists such as Mstislav Rostropovich, Gidon Kremer, Olli Mustonen, Nina Stemme, Bo Skovhus as well as Jan Garbarek and the Esbj��rn Svensson Trio enthralled their audiences. The Peenem��nde Concerts, frequently featuring the NDR Symphony Orchestra, are among the highlights of the more than 30 events presented by the Festival each year. From September 19 to October 10, 2009, the musical and cultural life of the former state of Prussia will be the focus of the Festival. www.usedomer-musikfestival.de

Nord Stream AG is fully aware of its environmental, economic and social responsibility. This means creating sustainable development in the energy sector as well as making an essential contribution to society, the environment and culture in the Baltic Sea region. Nord Stream co-initiated and sponsors the Baltic Youth Philharmonic, an orchestra dedicated to the development of young musicians from all Baltic Sea states, in order to promote the advancement of future generations, while supporting the cultural diversity of the region. The company is an international joint venture established for the planning, construction and subsequent operation of a natural gas pipeline to link Russia and the European Union via the Baltic Sea. www.nord-stream.com

Estonian-born and American-raised, conductor Kristjan J��rvi is a unique musical personality pushing classical music borders with fresh ideas, charisma and technical prowess. Hailed by the New York Times as ���a kinetic force on the podium, like Leonard Bernstein reborn," J��rvi has combined his classical roots and affinity for traditional repertoire with an infectious enthusiasm for creating original cross-cultural programs and propelling classical concert halls around the globe into the 21st Century. A highly sought-after Guest Conductor, J��rvi appears regularly with the London Symphony Orchestra (with whom he will be appearing during their upcoming tours in UK and China), Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Berlin Radio Symphony, Orchestre National de France, Dresden Philharmonic, Dresden Staatskapelle, Bayerischer Rundfunk, and Royal Scottish National Orchestra. He recently made his debuts with the NHK, Sydney Symphony and RAI Turino. Upcoming debuts include Orchestre de Paris, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Santa Cecilia Rome, the Munich Philharmonic and NDR Hamburg, Kristjan J��rvi is Founder and Music Director of New York���s groundbreaking Absolute Ensemble.

Kristjan J��rvi began his career assisting Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with whom he made his debut at the Hollywood Bowl in 1999 and went on to become Chief Conductor of the Norrlands Opera and Symphony Orchestra, Sweden(2000-2004) and Chief Conductor and Music Director for the Tonk��nstler Orchestra, Vienna (2004-2009). J��rvi���s passion for new music has resulted in the commission of more than a hundred works by composers including Arvo P��rt, HK Gruber, Erkki-Sven T��ur and Daniel Schnyder. He has recorded more than twenty albums for which he has received a list of accolades. In 2007 Deutsche Bank awarded Kristjan J��rvi the ���Deutsche Bank Prize��� at Musikfest Bremen in recognition of outstanding musical achievement and artistic vision.

Kristjan J��rvi is a committed advocate of music education and has mentored young musicians and youth orchestras around the world. In addition to his work with the Baltic Youth Philharmonic, J��rvi is the founder of the Absolute Academy at Bremen University and co-founder of the Muusikaselts Estonian Orphanage Program. Kristjan J��rvi makes his home in Vienna and Florida together with his wife and children.