Arvo Volmer

Estonian conductor Arvo Volmer is widely acclaimed for his powerful performances in both opera and concert. He is particularly renowned in the music of Mahler and Sibelius, German, Nordic and Russian composers and contemporary music.

He is General Music Director of the Estonian National Opera, where he leads new productions of works including Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Verdi’s Il trovatore and Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges. Other current and recent highlights include an ongoing relationship with the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra and appearances with Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano e Trento and the Oulu and Porto Symphony orchestras, among many others.

Arvo Volmer made his professional debut with the Estonian National Opera at the age of 22 and has been associated with the company ever since. He became Associate Conductor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra in 1989 and Music Director from 1993 until 2001. He was also Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of Finland’s Oulu Symphony Orchestra between 1994 and 2005. Additionally, he was Music Director of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra (2004–13), leading the orchestra on tours to Los Angeles and New York’s Carnegie Hall and on a five-year Mahler project.

He has appeared with leading orchestras, including the BBC, Helsinki and Royal Stockholm Philharmonic orchestras, City of Birmingham, Finnish Radio, Gothenburg, Singapore and Taiwan Symphony orchestras, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and all the major orchestras in Australia. As an opera conductor, he has performed at the Bolshoi Theatre, Finnish National Opera, Norwegian Opera Oslo and regularly with Opera Australia in the Sydney and Melbourne opera houses.

Among his extensive number of recordings, highlights include the complete symphonies of Sibelius, symphonic works of Tubin, complete works of Madetoja and albums of Swedish and Estonian contemporary music. His most recent release features the wind concertos of Ross Edwards with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Arvo Volmer studied conducting at the St Petersburg Conservatoire. In 1989 he was a prizewinner at the Nikolai Malko Competition in Copenhagen.

Arweinydd

Mae’r arweinydd o Estonia Arvo Volmer wedi ennill clod a bri am ei berfformiadau pwerus ym maes opera a chyngherddau. Mae’n arbennig o hyddysg yng ngherddoriaeth Mahler a Sibelius, cyfansoddwyr Almaenig, Nordig a Rwsiaidd a cherddoriaeth gyfoes.

Ef yw Cyfarwyddwr Cerdd Cyffredinol Opera Cenedlaethol Estonia, lle mae’n arwain cynyrchiadau newydd o weithiau sy’n cynnwys Don Pasquale Donizetti, Il trovatore Verdi a L’enfant et les sortilèges Ravel. Ymhlith ei uchafbwyntiau cyfredol a diweddar eraill mae ganddo berthynas barhaus â Cherddorfa Symffoni Wladol São Paulo ac mae wedi ymddangos gyda Cherddorfa Haydn di Bolzano e Trento a cherddorfeydd Symffoni Oulu a Porto, a llawer mwy.

Gwnaeth Arvo Volmer ei ymddangosiad proffesiynol cyntaf gydag Opera Cenedlaethol Estonia yn 22 oed ac mae wedi bod yn gysylltiedig â’r cwmni byth ers hynny. Daeth yn Arweinydd Cyswllt Cerddorfa Symffoni Genedlaethol Estonia ym 1989, ac yn Gyfarwyddwr Cerdd rhwng 1993 a 2001. Bu’n Brif Arweinydd a Chyfarwyddwr Artistig Cerddorfa Symffoni Oulu yn y Ffindir hefyd rhwng 1994 a 2005. Yn ogystal, bu’n Gyfarwyddwr Cerdd Cerddorfa Symffoni Adelaide (2004–13), gan arwain y gerddorfa ar deithiau i Los Angeles a Neuadd Carnegie Efrog Newydd ac ar brosiect pum mlynedd yn dehongli gwaith Mahler.

Mae wedi ymddangos gyda cherddorfeydd blaenllaw, gan gynnwys cerddorfeydd Ffilharmonig y BBC, Helsinki a Cherddorfa Ffilharmonig Frenhinol Stockholm, cerddorfeydd Symffoni Dinas Birmingham, Radio’r Ffindir, Gothenburg, Singapore a Taiwan, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France a phob un o gerddorfeydd mawr Awstralia. Fel arweinydd opera, mae wedi perfformio yn Theatr y Bolshoi, Opera Cenedlaethol y Ffindir, Opera Norwy yn Oslo ac yn rheolaidd gydag Opera Awstralia yn nhai opera Sydney a Melbourne.

Ymhlith uchafbwyntiau ei yrfa recordio helaeth mae recordiadau o holl symffonïau Sibelius, gweithiau symffonig Tubin, gweithiau cyflawn Madetoja ac albymau o gerddoriaeth gyfoes Sweden ac Estonia. Ei recordiad diweddaraf yw concertos chwyth Ross Edwards gyda Cherddorfa Symffoni Melbourne.

Astudiodd Arvo Volmer grefft yr arweinydd yn Conservatoire St Petersburg. Ym 1989 enillodd wobr yng Nghystadleuaeth Nikolai Malko yn Copenhagen.