"This is crazy, now it's getting serious!"

1 The first encounter

Grosse Tonhalle, 3 June 2024: "I'm Julia from Poland," says the then 23-year-old Julia Kurzydlak as she stands in front of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich for the first time as part of the Conductors' Academy. She has the notes of the Scherzo from Brahms' Serenade No. 1 in front of her, behind her an interested audience including streaming guests from all over the world, and Paavo Järvi next to her.

He interrupts them after two seconds during the first movement: "Please don't bob."

After just one second, he intervenes during the second cue: "The orchestra isn't together because you're not entering clearly enough." He demonstrates what he means and then talks about the softness of the sound and how to control the development of the tempo to create the right atmosphere.

During the third cue, he keeps moving with her, sings along with individual lines and emphasises her gestures. For half a minute, until the next stop.

It's been a while now, and a lot has happened since then. But Julia Kurzydlak, who has been Paavo Järvi's Assistant Conductor since the beginning of the 2025/26 season, remembers this first encounter very well. When asked whether the constant interruptions didn't put her under a lot of stress, she just laughs: "No, on the contrary! I was stressed beforehand because I didn't know what to say to the orchestra. I was the youngest candidate that year and had never conducted at such a high level before. So when Paavo interrupted me, I was happy: he was there, he was in control of the situation. I didn't have to do anything other than learn."

Paavo Järvi also remembers this moment. He immediately noticed their presence, he says. But does he really notice where a young conductor is standing after just a few seconds? "You can see basic technical things very quickly, and I want to make good use of my time at the Conductors' Academy. But to find out how musical someone is, how intelligent, how capable of learning - that takes a little longer." More precisely, about three days: he then decided to give Julia Kurzydlak the main prize and invite her to his festival in Pärnu for another masterclass.

What this meant for her can be seen on YouTube, as can the entire Conductors' Academy. Firstly, she receives the Audience Award and beams with gratitude as expected. She was very happy about it, she says, "but I thought: maybe my family just voted hard for me". When Paavo Järvi then calls her name for the main prize, she seems almost stunned. "That was actually me! Because at that moment I realised: This is crazy, now it's getting serious!"

2 The beginnings

It was the second key moment on her career path, and the word "life-changing" comes up in conversation. She had experienced the first decisive turning point as a teenager. She had been playing the violin for a long time back then, but saw her future in theatre, as a director or actress. Then, by chance, she ended up conducting a Christmas concert at her music school, "and then a teacher asked me where I wanted to study. That's when I started thinking and realised that the profession of conductor brings together everything I like: people, developing something together, movement - and above all music.

She then prepared for the entrance exam at the Fryderyk Chopin University in Warsaw on her own, "I presented myself there with a really peculiar conducting style". But the potential was recognised - and so she received her first regular lessons during her studies. She also attended masterclasses, including with Marin Alsop. It was there that she made a recording with which she then applied to the Conductors' Academy: "It wasn't particularly good, and it was no longer up to date. But it worked out."

It was a stroke of luck, and not just because of the prize. Compared to a competition, the atmosphere was less competitive, she says: "There were six of us and we got on really well." You also learn a lot by following the lessons of others: "For me, it really was an ideal format."

Paavo Järvi also once had an encounter in a masterclass for which he, like Julia Kurzydlak, uses the word "life-changing". As the son of conductor Neeme Järvi, his career goal had always been clear to him, "I learnt all the basics from my father: the technique, how to study scores, the whole attitude towards music". But the two summer courses he attended with Leonard Bernstein during his studies were decisive. "In a world where everyone is cautious, Bernstein thought: we'll do more, go for it. Some of his work seemed almost exaggerated, and yet it was always convincing because he believed in it."

3 Pärnu

Paavo Järvi discovered that he enjoys teaching himself several years ago in his native Estonia - at his summer festival in Pärnu, where he gave his first masterclasses: "I like the process, I want to find out what someone needs." He also learns a lot in the process, "more than the students!" Teaching helps him to refresh his own principles, "to reconnect with the fundamental truths that you might forget over the years or at least no longer focus on so much".

Julia Kurzydlak certainly realised in Pärnu just how exhausting it is to come to terms with these "fundamental truths". The festival took place a few weeks after the Conductors' Academy, so she hardly had time to learn the repertoire. The atmosphere was great, she says, "friendly people, summer vibes, it was really special". Unlike in Zurich, however, she now felt under pressure: "I had won this prize and thought that Paavo expected a lot from me." He was indeed very critical, "but in between he always said nice things or made an absurd remark. Then I knew - ok, there's nothing wrong with me, he's challenging me because he has confidence in me".

What Paavo Järvi demands cannot be summarised in a few catchwords. Conducting is a strange profession: there are no patent remedies for it, and yet you can do a lot of things wrong - technically, musically, psychologically. At the same time, there are not many jobs where you can fool people so easily, says Järvi. He himself is often criticised for being "less emotional" because his movements are relatively small and direct. But "gambolling around" doesn't help, "you can impress a lot of people with that, but not someone who knows anything about conducting".

Is it about clarity? "Yes, but not only." If the clarity is linked to a predictable musical logic, it works, "and many orchestras like that. But the interesting part starts where something is unpredictable". How you get to this point is an individual and long journey. It takes talent and experience, opportunities and the ability to seize them. And what Paavo Järvi calls "inner energy": "That's the most important thing of all. Julia has it."

4 The invitation

After the festival, Julia Kurzydlak travelled home to Poland "to sleep a lot and tell everyone what I had experienced in Zurich and Pärnu". She began her final master's year and conducted a few concerts, mainly with contemporary works. At some point, she received an invitation from a Swiss orchestra to apply for the position of assistant conductor. "I then wrote to Paavo and asked him for advice on how best to present myself there. But he just said: No, you don't have to go there, I want you as Assistant Conductor in Zurich."

For her, this was far more than the fulfilment of a dream: "It gave me a deep sense of peace and confidence. I knew that I could now simply work and learn for a certain amount of time."

5 Everyday life

She has been in Zurich since September 2025. She accompanies the rehearsals, checks the sound balance from the auditorium and notes down interpretational details. At the beginning, she was unsure, "the orchestra is so good, I didn't even know if I would notice anything at all". These doubts have long since vanished into thin air. You can see how actively she listens and thinks at every rehearsal. She observes Paavo Järvi at least as closely as he did during the Conductors' Academy: "I notice, for example, that he often sings. That works better than long explanations."

Discussions take place after rehearsals: "We really talk a lot about music - about the pieces being rehearsed, but also about others. If I have a question about Schubert's Symphony No. 5, Paavo says: Ok, Schubert, and then it starts. He has everything in his head, he just has to pull out the right drawer." The two also talk about art, politics and philosophical topics. And the conversation never goes from top to bottom: "I often hear stories from colleagues who aren't even allowed to see the scores of their chief conductors. It's different with Paavo, he shares everything with me."

He does this consciously: "There were people who opened a door for me. Now I see it as my job to open a door for others." Although he has never been an assistant conductor himself, "because nobody took me on", he sees this position as an important stage on his way into the professional world. However, only if there is a real exchange: "It's no good if an assistant only has to serve the coffee and then it's time to say goodbye: Bye, see you tomorrow."

When Paavo Järvi makes guest appearances elsewhere between his Zurich engagements, Julia Kurzydlak pursues her own projects. She takes part in competitions, conducts in Poland and conducted the family concert "The Frog Prince" in the Tonhalle. How much is she influenced by what she experiences as an assistant conductor? Of course Paavo Järvi is her "role model", she says, "that's completely normal. You can't develop everything exclusively from within yourself. This is not only true at the beginning of a career: Paavo Järvi says that he continues to learn from others to this day. Performances that were not entirely successful are often particularly instructive. And time and again he finds recordings on YouTube that inspire him, recently for example "La Bohème" with Herbert von Karajan: "It's really impressive how he had every single aspect under control!"

Something else they both mention independently of each other: How important chemistry is in learning. "That was the best discovery in the first few weeks in Zurich: that we think about music in very similar ways, that we often notice the same things," says Julia Kurzydlak. Paavo Järvi feels the same way - so much so that her contract was extended for the 2026/27 season shortly after she started.