Risto Joost

Despite his relatively young age, Risto Joost is a conductor with solid experience and versatility. He has already held important artistic positions, achieved success in major competitions, released critically acclaimed recordings, and conducted some of the world’s most renowned orchestras. His repertoire ranges from Baroque to contemporary music. 

Risto is Principal Conductor of the Estonian National Opera, Chief Conductor of the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, and Artistic Director of the MDR Radio Choir in Leipzig.

In recent years, Risto has appeared with some of the world’s most distinguished orchestras. These include the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig, the Mariinsky Orchestra, and the Netherlands Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras. He has worked with choral ensembles such as the RIAS Kammerchor, the Rundfunkchor Berlin, the SWR Vokalensemble, the Netherlands Chamber Choir, the Swedish Radio Choir, Ars Nova Copenhagen, and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. In the upcoming season, he will make his debut with the Odense Symphony Orchestra, Tampere Philharmonic, Strasbourg Philharmonic, Württembergisches Kammerorchester, and the SWR Symphony Orchestra and Vocal Ensemble in Stuttgart. 

Opera is at the heart of Risto’s conducting career, and his repertoire includes L’elisir d’amore, La Traviata, La Bohème, Tosca, I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Wallenberg (Erkki-Sven Tüür). This season he is also conducting Aida, Faust, Carmen and Rinaldo. Risto’s discography includes recordings of Haydn with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Peeter Vähi with the Latvian National Symphony, Arvo Pärt with the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Choir, and a number of recordings with the Estonian National Symphony, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, and the Netherlands Chamber Choir. 

Risto studied at the Estonian Academy of Music and the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. In 2008, he graduated from the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, where he earned a master’s degree in orchestral conducting under Jorma Panula.
Risto Joost signed with Nordic Artists Management in 2015.