When Eri Klas became the artistic director of the Tallinn Philharmonic, he already had the experience of knowing and conquering the great world of music in his pocket. By 2002, he had been the chief conductor of the Estonia Theater for 20 years, held the same position at the Royal Stockholm Opera, the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Tampere City Orchestra. He had conducted many of Europe's top orchestras, of which the Berlin Philharmonic would surely be crowned. In America, the best symphony orchestras of Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, Cincinnati and several other cities have been partners of Eri Klas. Tim Page wrote in "The Washington Post" newspaper (27.03.1998): "Klas is an extremely interesting and original artist with a strikingly unusual manner at the conductor's desk. His arm movements are oddly limited - at times it seems as if he's swimming underwater - but he has unusually sensitive wrists and palms, and has developed a peculiar method of communicating his intentions to players. I have rarely heard the National Symphony Orchestra sounding so bright, so even, so inspired.”

Eri Klas immediately began to pass on his experiences and contacts to the Tallinn Philharmonic - again so that a small national organization would soon acquire an international dimension. In the years 2002-2006, he led the concert series "Classics with Klas". 16 concerts were held, where the soloists were, for example, Bella Davidovich (USA) and Kalle Randalu. In 2005, the chamber orchestra went on a concert tour to Japan.

In 2005, on the initiative of Eri Klas, together with the Tallinn City Government, the foundation was laid for the Birgitta Festival, which has remained the top event of our capital every summer to this day. Just as the Maestro himself felt at home in all musical genres, Birgitta Festival has also offered opera, ballet, vocal-symphonic music (including staged), jazz, children's plays, etc. Theaters with exciting repertoire from Russia, Germany, England, etc. have been invited to the village. Eri Klas himself has directed Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake", Verdi's "Requiem", Rossini's "The Barber of Seville", Orff's "Carmina Burana" and other guest theater performances at the festival. The first performances of Britten's chamber opera "The Turn of the Screw" and Bernstein's "Mass" in Estonia became special events. The performance of Arvo Pärt's "Tabula Rasa" in 2013 turned into a nostalgic evening. The soloists are still Tatjana Grindenko and Gidon Kremer, who brought the work dedicated to Eri Klas to the premiere in the TPI hall 33 years ago. At that time, Eri conducted the Estonian Theater Chamber Orchestra, now Kremerata Baltica.

Taking a look at the last two years, the gala concert "Tallinn Philharmonia 20", the jubilee gala dedicated to Eri Klas by the artistic director of the Moscow Helikon Opera Dmitri Bertman and the maestro's last rise to the conductor's desk at the 2015 Birgitta Festival gala "Passion of Broadway" are worth noting.

We must not forget the efforts of Eri Klas that Mustpeade Maja became the new home of the Tallinn Philharmonic in 2011, which was followed by a campaign to procure a new Steinway piano. If we add that Eri Klas was the founder and chairman of the Estonian National Culture Foundation, a member of the Estonian Olympic Committee, a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, an honorary doctorate of the Estonian Academy of Music, etc. - then we inevitably feel that his dedication to the development of Estonian music life is a work that would have required the contribution of several people to realize it. But Eri Klas was able to manage this leadership alone, and good friends and like-minded people always came along with bold ideas.

Risto Joost has become the new artistic director of the Tallinn Philharmonic. We will be waiting with interest for their future plans and development directions, but I have no doubt for a moment that the activities of the Tallinn Philharmonic will always be accompanied by the motto of the 2016 Birgitta Festival: "With love from a different class."
Arne Mikk