Paavo Järvi
The elder son of conductor Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi has achieved much, including appointments leading the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and NHK Symphony Orchestra. Although a musician of broad interests and a resident of the United States for the greater part of his life, he has continued to champion the music of his native Estonia in live performances and on disc. Blessed with directing gifts that transcend mere talent, he is among the handful of younger conductors regarded as true successors to the great maestros of the past. Järvi issued a recording of Tchaikovsky's second and fourth symphonies in 2021, leading the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra on the Alpha label.
Born in Tallinn, Estonia, he began his studies in conducting and percussion at the Tallinn School of Music. When Järvi was 17 years old, his father moved the family to United States, and Paavo entered the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where his instructors in conducting were Otto-Werner Mueller and that doyen among conducting teachers, Max Rudolf. At the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, he studied with Leonard Bernstein. The younger Järvi's abilities quickly manifested themselves enough to lead to guest engagements with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Berlin Philharmonic, among many others. While bearing the family name may have gotten him a hearing, Paavo Järvi's own brilliance prevailed in shaping scores and drawing quality performances from the widely diverse orchestras he faced. He was engaged as principal guest conductor by the Stockholm Philharmonic and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and earned praise for the manner in which he filled both posts. With these groups, Järvi established himself as a presence in the recording studio, amassing an enviable collection of worldwide reviews for both his live performances and recordings.
In September 2001, Järvi became the 12th music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, succeeding Jesús López-Cobos. His debut in that post was preceded by a release on Telarc of the Cincinnati Symphony conducted by Järvi of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique and the Love Music From Roméo et Juliet. He held the post with the Cincinnati Symphony until 2011 when he was named the music director laureate. Among the Estonians championed by Järvi are Erkki-Sven Tüür, Udo Kasemets, and Eduard Tubin, together with the better-known Arvo Pärt. In 2004, he became the artistic director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, a position he still held as of 2021. Järvi served as the principal conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2006 until 2014. In 2010, he also took on the role of music director for the Orchestre de Paris, where he served until 2016. The Tokyo-based NHK Symphony Orchestra announced Järvi's appointment as its next chief conductor, with a term starting in 2015. In 2019, he took on the same role with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra.
A prolific recording artist, Järvi's releases include orchestral works by Stenhammar, Sibelius' Kullervo and the Lemminkäinen Suite, works by Bernstein, an album of cello concertos with Truls Mørk, and an album devoted to orchestral works by Lepo Sumera. Järvi has enjoyed a longtime association with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and has led the group on several recordings, including an album of orchestral works by Pärt, as well as Sibelius' solitary opera, The Maiden in the Tower. Järvi and the Estonian National Symphony won a Grammy Award in 2004 for a recording of Sibelius' cantatas. In 2012, he was named a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, and in 2015 he won a Sibelius Award and was named Artist of the Year by the Diapason and Gramophone magazines. Järvi was heard leading the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra in 2021 on the album Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 2 and 4.
© Erik Eriksson & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10 in E Minor, Op. 93 & Tormis: Overture No. 2
Paavo Järvi, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Telarc on 24 Mar 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bartók & Lutosławski: Concertos for Orchestra
Paavo Järvi, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Telarc on 25 Apr 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sibelius: Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 43 - Tubin: Symphony No. 5 in B Minor
Paavo Järvi, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Telarc on 27 Aug 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Brahms Symphony No. 2 - Tragic Overture - Academic Festival Overture
Paavo Järvi, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Classical - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 23 Nov 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stenhammar: Symphonies Nos. 1 and 2 / Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 / Orchestral Music
Göteborgs Symfoniker, Malmö Symphony Orchestra, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi
Classical - Released by BIS on 30 Nov 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Orchestral Selections from "Der Ring des Nibelungen"
Paavo Järvi, NHK Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 4 Sep 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann: Symphony No. 4, Overture, Scherzo & Finale & Konzertstuck
Paavo Järvi, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Classical - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 12 Mar 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Estonian Premieres
Estonian Festival Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Classical - Released by Alpha Classics on 10 Jun 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Toru Takemitsu: Orchestral Works
Paavo Järvi, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Akiko Suwanai
Classical - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 5 Feb 2020
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Poulenc: Stabat Mater; Gloria; Litanies à la Vierge noire
Patricia Petibon, Orchestre de Paris, Paavo Järvi, Choeur De L'Orchestre De Paris
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 5 Nov 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Suite for Jazz Orchestra No. 2, Op. 50b: No. 2, Waltz
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 24 Aug 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Violin Concerto No.5 In A, K.219 / Vieuxtemps: Violin Concerto No.4 In D Minor, Op.31 (Bonus Track Version)
Hilary Hahn, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Paavo Järvi
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 9 Feb 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Symphonic Dances; Holberg Suites; Two Elegiac Songs
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 17 Apr 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 2
Berliner Philharmoniker, Paavo Järvi
Symphonies - Released by Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings on 10 Dec 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Sound of Arvo Pärt
Tõnu Kaljuste, Paavo Järvi, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir
Classical - Released by Erato - Warner Classics on 28 Aug 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bartok: Concerto for Orchestra / The Miraculous Mandarin Suite
Paavo Järvi, NHK Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 12 Apr 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies No.6 "Pastoral" & No.2 (International Version)
Classical - Released by RCA Red Seal on 16 Jul 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mahler : Symphony No. 6 "Tragic"
Paavo Järvi, NHK Symphony Orchestra
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 6 Feb 2019
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Shostakovich: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2
Alexander Toradze, Jurgen Ellensohn, George Vatchnadze, Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt, Paavo Järvi
Concertos - Released by Pan Classics on 7 May 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nielsen: Flute & Clarinet Concertoz, Aladdin Suite
Paavo Järvi, Philharmonia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Signum Records on 24 Feb 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 5 & 1
Classical - Released by RCA Red Seal on 29 Aug 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo