This month Warner Classics releases a box set of 30 CDs comprising Paavo Järvi’s complete catalogue on Virgin Classics, EMI and Erato, recorded between 1996 and 2015, plus a bonus CD of the Franck Symphony in D minor he made last September with Orchestre de Paris, of which he was Music Director from 2010–16.
Many other orchestras are also well represented on the set, including the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, of which Paavo was Principal Guest Conductor from 1995–98; the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, where he was also Principal Guest Donductor from 1996–99; Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France; Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, of which he was Principal Conductor from 2006–14; and the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, including a recording of Sibelius cantatas featuring the Estonian National Male Choir and Ellerhein Girls Choir that won a GRAMMY AWARD in 2004.
In the booklet note, James Jolly comments “What’s striking about this collection is not just the consistency of Paavo Järvi’s approach to his work – a fine attention to detail, a superior ear for orchestral colour, a real feel for rhythm (he started life as a percussionist) and a strong grasp of a work’s architecture – but also his musical inquisitiveness and appetite for new things. The range here is remarkable, taking in numerous classics of the repertoire as well as many novelties.”