Marie-Helen Aavakivi – violinist
Genres: Classical music / Chamber music / Orchestral
Violinist Marie-Helen Aavakivi has served as a soloist with various orchestras, including the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Tallinn Music High School Symphony Orchestra, and Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Symphony Orchestra. She has collaborated with esteemed conductors such as Paul Mägi, Toomas Kapten, and Risto Joost. Additionally, Marie-Helen has been a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra (EUYO), Estonian National Opera Symphony Orchestra, EAMT Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra, and Tallinn Music High School Symphony Orchestra.
In June 2019, Marie-Helen successfully defended her doctoral thesis titled “Professor Johannes Paulsen’s Violin Students’ Repertoire and Performance Style in 1930s Estonia” at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. Her academic journey included obtaining a master’s degree (MA cum laude) in violin in 2012, supervised by Prof. Alexander Fischer and Prof. Tõnu Reimann. She began her violin studies at Tallinn Music High School under the guidance of Toomas Nestor from 1995 to 2007.
Since 2012, Marie-Helen Aavakivi has been a member of the chamber orchestra Kremerata Baltica, led by the world-renowned violinist Gidon Kremer. The ensemble has performed nearly 400 concerts in prestigious concert halls across Europe, Russia, North and South America, as well as various countries in Asia and the Middle East. The orchestra has also recorded several highly acclaimed CDs, including a Grammy-nominated set in 2015 for Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s works and an ECHO Klassik award-winning CD in 2016 for Shostakovich’s piano concertos.
Marie-Helen has a rich orchestral experience, having been part of the European Union Youth Orchestra from 2006 to 2011 and serving as the II Violin Concertmaster in 2010. She has worked with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and as the 2nd Concertmaster in the Estonian National Opera Symphony Orchestra. Marie-Helen Aavakivi has participated in masterclasses with distinguished musicians such as Zakhar Bron, Marianne Boettcher, Irina Botškova, Michael Gaisler, Mi-Kyung Lee, Stanislav Pronin, Marina Chiche, Pavel Berman, and others. She has also led violin masterclasses at Shenandoah University in the United States.
As a soloist, Marie-Helen has performed with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Tallinn Music High School Symphony Orchestra, and Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre Symphony Orchestra under the batons of Paul Mägi, Toomas Kapten, and Risto Joost. In addition to her solo performances, she has collaborated with pianist Ralf Taal in the international concert series “Lossimuusika” and participated in various projects, including recording with composer Mihkel Kerem.
Marie-Helen Aavakivi was awarded a scholarship from the Estonian National Culture Fund in 2016.
MEDIA
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Sonaat viiulile ja klaverile nr 32 B-duur KV 454
I Largo – Allegro
II Andante (00:06:09)
III Allegretto (00:13:51)
Marie-Helen Aavakivi (viiul) / Ralf Taal (klaver).