Paul Mägi (born 13 October 1953) is an Estonian conductor in concert and opera and is also an academic teacher and violinist. He has commissioned works for the

Estonian National Opera Estonian National Opera (''Rahvusooper Estonia'') is the national opera company of Estonia. The company is based at the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn. The theatre has had several names throughout its existence. The latest one being "The Estonian Nati ...

Life and music

Born in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

(then Soviet Union), Mägi achieved his

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

at the 42nd secondary school in Tallinn, today's Deutsches Gymnasium Tallinn (''Tallinna Saksa Gümnaasium''), in the district of

Mustamäe Mustamäe ( Estonian for ''Black Hill'') is one of the 8 administrative districts ( et, linnaosa) of Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The smallest by area (it covers only 8.1 km²), it is at the same time the second largest district by popul ...

. He graduated from the Tallinn Music High School in 1972, where he specialised in violin with Endel Lippus and in trumpet with Tõnu Tarum. He studied trumpet at the

Tallinn State Conservatory The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

with Tõnu Tarum, finishing in 1980. He studied further at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

, conducting with

Gennady Rozhdestvensky Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky, CBE (russian: Генна́дий Никола́евич Рожде́ственский; 4 May 1931 – 16 June 2018) was a Soviet and Russian conductor. Biography Gennady Rozhdestvensky was born in Moscow. H ...

, where he graduated in 1984.

Conducting

Mägi founded a chamber orchestra for the

Estonian Radio Eesti Raadio (Estonian Radio, ER) was the public service radio broadcaster of Estonia that, at the time of closure, operated five national radio stations. It was closed in 2007 as a result of a merger with Eesti Televisioon (Estonian Television, ...

, which was named the Estonian Radio Chamber Orchestra in 1978. He conducted it until 1984. Mägi was musical director and chief conductor of the

Latvian National Symphony Orchestra The Latvian National Symphony Orchestra (LNSO; lv, Latvijas Nacionālais simfoniskais orķestris) is a Latvian orchestra based in Riga. Its primary performance venue is the Great Guild Hall in Riga. In addition to regular symphonic concert ...

(''Latvijas Nacionālais simfoniskais orķestris'') in Riga from 1990 to 1994. From 1995 to 1997, Mägi was artistic director of the Estonian theatre which was then named the

. He was its first artistic director and principal conductor from 1998. He commissioned operas from Estonian composers, such as Rene Eespere's ''Gurmans'' and

Raimo Kangro Raimo Kangro (21 September 1949 Tartu – 4 February 2001 Ruila, Harju County) was an Estonian composer. He composed mainly instrumental works and operas. In 1968 he graduated from Tallinn State Conservatory in composition speciality. 1989-2001 ...

's ''Heart''. He introduced recordings of operas, including Verdi's ''

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (, short for Nabucodonosor ; en, " Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblical books of 2 Kings, ...

'' and

Eino Tamberg Eino Tamberg (27 May 1930 – 24 December 2010) was an Estonian composer whose works are performed internationally. He composed operas such as ''Cyrano de Bergerac'', four symphonies, and several concertos. He taught composition for decades at th ...

's ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' in 2000, which led to the first recording of Tamberg's opera. From 2004, Mägi has been the conductor of the symphony orchestra of the

Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre The Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre (''Eesti Muusika- ja Teatriakadeemia'') began as a mixed choir of the Estonia Society Musical Department (EMD) on the eve of World War I. The assembly of the Estonia Society created the Tallinn Higher Musi ...

and also of the , a chamber orchestra based in

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

. He also performs as a jazz violinist.''Eesti Elulood.'' Tallinn: Eesti Entsüklopeediakirjastus 2000 (Eesti Entsüklopeedia 14) , From the 2010/11 season, he has been chief conductor of the

Vanemuine Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It was the first Estonian language theatre. History ''1870–1906 The Beginning of the Beginning. Koidula’s Theatre, Wiera’s Theatre.'' On June 24, 1870 was the first day in Estonian theatre ...

theatre in

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...

. He has conducted several Estonian orchestras, such as the

Estonian National Symphony Orchestra Estonian National Symphony Orchestra ( et, Eesti Riiklik Sümfooniaorkester ''(ERSO)'') is the leading orchestra in Estonia and is based in the capital Tallinn. The orchestra traces it roots to 18 December 1926, the first concert broadcast by Tal ...

. He conducted premiere recordings, such as

Eduard Tubin Eduard Tubin ( – 17 November 1982) was an Estonian composer, conductor, and choreographer. Life Tubin was born in Torila, Tartu County, Governorate of Livonia, then part of the Russian Empire. Both his parents were music lovers, and his fat ...

's opera ''Reigi õpetaja'' in 1992 and

Erkki-Sven Tüür Erkki-Sven Tüür (born 16 October 1959) is an Estonian composer. Life and career Tüür () was born in Kärdla on the Estonian island of Hiiumaa. He studied flute and percussion at the Tallinn Music School from 1976 to 1980 and composition wit ...

's Second Symphony in 2004.

Teaching

Mägi was a teacher of conducting at the

Latvian Academy of Music Latvian may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Latvia **Latvians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to what is modern-day Latvia and the immediate geographical region **Latvian language, also referred to as Lettish **Latvian cuisine **Latv ...

from 1991 to 1994. He has taught conducting at the

from 1989. He has given master classes internationally, including the

Stockholm Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music, Stockholm ( sv, Kungliga Musikhögskolan i Stockholm) is the oldest institution of higher education in music in Sweden, founded in 1771 as the conservatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The institution was mad ...

. His students have included

Olari Elts Olari Elts (born April 27, 1971 in Tallinn) is an Estonian conductor. He was the principal conductor of the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra from 2001 to 2006. He is the founder and director of the contemporary music ensemble NYYD Ensemble. ...

, Mihhail Gerts, Lehari Kaustel, Thomas Kemp, Erki Pehk, Pauls Putninš, and Aivo Välja.

Awards

In 1985, Mägi received the Estonian Prize for Young Musicians. In 1994 he was awarded the Cultural Award of the Republic of Latvia. In 1994, 1996, and 1999 Mägi was awarded the prize of the Estonian Music Theatre Union, and in 2000 the Cultural Prize of the Republic of Estonia, among others.

References

External links

* *
Paul Mägi
on

Paul Mägi conductor
on Opera base
Paul Mägi - Conductor
on Svenska KoncertByran
Paul Mägi

BIS Records BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in Åkersberga, Sweden. BIS focuses on classical music, both contemporary and early, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recordings. ...

* Peter Nagy, Philippe Rouyer (eds.)
World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: Volume 1: Europe, Volume 1

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, p. 243, 2014 * Rob Barnett
Helmer Alexandersson (1886-1927)
musicweb-international.com July 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Magi, Paul 1953 births Estonian conductors (music) Estonian violinists Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class Living people Musicians from Tallinn Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre alumni Jazz violinists 20th-century Estonian musicians 21st-century Estonian people Moscow Conservatory alumni