WATCH: PAAVO JÄRVI – ESTONIA’S “LUCKY MAN”  &  MASTER CLASS AT THE JÄRVI ACADEMY

“Being by the shores of the Baltic Sea is special in itself … Such delights are brought together each summer in Pärnu, Estonia’s cultural capital. Thanks to its music festival created in 2010 by its famous conductor Paavo Järvi together with his family; different generations united by the same passion. Pärnu has always been a crossroads for artists and musicians; a renowned seaside resort in the past, today back to its former glory, it boasts picturesque dachas and listed sights, such as the Ammende Villa, a Liberty building where “Musica” had the chance to meet Paavo Järvi.”

Reviewing the Pärnu Music Festival which ended with standing ovations on Sunday night,  the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes today “With the Pärnu Music Festival Paavo Järvi creates competiton for Europe and, from 2017, he will start to export a part of it. This is bound to cause a stir on the European festival scene.”

The festival, which Paavo Järvi created six years ago in the idyllic old fashioned seaside resort of Pärnu on the Baltic Sea, is quickly drawing the attention of journalists overseas. The BBC Music Magazine wrote “Pärnu, Estonia’s summer capital, is tucked within a huge natural harbour on the Baltic country’s southern coast. Mysteriously unknown to British holiday-makers but a firm favourite with the Finns (and, once upon a time, violinist David Oistrakh and composer Dmitri Shostakovich), the city boasts pristine white beaches with a gloriously safe, swimmable patch of sea, a delightful mix of old and new architecture, lush wooded spaces, superb restaurants and more spas than you could shake a stick at. Oh, and a truly wonderful music festival that’s starting at last to make a name for itself outside Estonia.”

For Paavo, the Pärnu Music Festival is not just another festival. Having emigrated with his family aged 18 to the States, it is the chance to return to his roots, to showcase the culture and beauty of his country and to nurture the next generation of musicians.  And it is here that he has created the Estonian Festival Orchestra, uniting the best of Estonian musicians with colleagues from around the world which, according to The Arts Desk “… begs comparison with the elasticity of Abbado’s concerts with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, which is as good as it can get.” The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung adds “Järvi could go into open competition with Lucerne and Verbier”.

The next Pärnu Music Festival will take place in August 2017 and will be followed by Paavo Järvi and the Estonian Festival Orchestra’s first performances abroad at festivals around the Baltic coast. In 2018 – the year in which Estonia celebrates 100 years of independence – the Estonian Festival Orchestra will spread it’s wings yet further with performances across Europe.

Photo: Kaupo Kikkas

As the 2015 / 16 concert season draws to an end so does Paavo Järvi’s highly successful tenure as Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris, a position he has held since 2010/11. His final concert in the Philharmonie will be on 18th June when he conducts Mahler Symphony no.3 featuring Michelle de Young as soloist.

The orchestra has just returned from a Swiss tour, taking in Geneva, Zurich, Lucerne and Bern, and other highlights of the past season include a hugely successful European tour in November 2015 which received the following reviews:

“It’s Paavo Järvi’s last season as chief conductor of the Orchestre de Paris and on Saturday they performed together at the Vienna Konzerthaus. Taking this performance as a yardstick, these five years together must have been a very fruitful collaboration: one rarely experiences such an immediate connection between orchestra and conductor, such an extraordinarily attentive presence on both sides so that with economical means an understanding of the most subtle shades is possible.”

Last week Paavo Järvi had the honour of conducting the Czech Philharmonic in the inaugral concert of the 71st International Prague Spring Festival and tonight he returns to the stage at the Royal Festival Hall to continue his ongoing Nielsen Symphony Cycle with the Philharmonia in London.

Tonight’s programme, which features both the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto and Symphony No.3, follows the recent CD release of the complete Nielsen Symphony Cycle which Paavo recorded with the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra. Receiving international critical acclaim, RBB Radio (Germany) commented on the cycle: “With his Estonian musical family roots he has sucked the sound and thought world of the Baltic Seas as if, so to speak, it is his mother’s milk”, Pizzicato (Luxembourg) wrote “The refined and transparent orchestral playing make these vivid and colourful performances truly gripping” and Quobuz (France) concluded “Paavo Järvi captures all the malicious nature of the work of the Danes, and gives a performance which is both incredible and full of musical relevance, constantly exciting.”

Paavo Järvi’s recording of the Elgar and Walton cello concertos with Steven Isserlis and the Philharmonia has been chosen as Gramophone’s Recording of the Month by Gramophone Magazine.

“… With his immaculate technical address and ravishingly songful, mellow tone, (Steven) Isserlis strikes precisely the right balance between classical strength and private introspection, his contribution as full of radiant spontaneity and tumbling fantasy as one could wish.

“He is also blessed in having such a scrupulously attentive partner as Paavo Järvi, who procures playing of the very highest quality from the Philharmonia. Tempi throughout are uniformly well judged. The first movement ideally combines suppleness and purpose, leading into a quicksilver scherzo that eschews any suggestion of hectic flashiness. To the glorious slow movement Isserlis and Järvi bring an unexaggerated depth of feeling, tenderness of expression and simple flow … The finale, too, is splendid.

“The Walton concerto likewise finds these sympathetic artists at the top of their game … Is this newcomer possibly the finest yet? I’m inclined to think so. After a sultry and intoxicatingly poised opening movement, the central scherzo fairly crackles with wit and ear-pricking detail … An unmissable release.”

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“Järvi represents the role of a sovereign trustee for the art of Carl Nielsen in this symphonic cosmos” writes Der Opernfreund’s in its review of Paavo Järvi’s new Nielsen cycle with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra . Four years in the making and released at the close of the 150th anniversary of Nielsen’s birth, further reviews from Germany follow suit in their praise:

“Paavo Järvi has just released a new recording with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and it has almost become an “historical” high point. With his Estonian musical family roots he has sucked the sound and thought world of the Baltic Seas as if, so to speak, it is his mother’s milk. What especially distinguishes the recording: A quasi natural empathy with the erratic, sometimes almost childish naitivty, but always built on a masterful craft and understanding of Nielsen … Paavo Järvi and the Frankfurt Symphony Orchestra engage so enthusiastically and selectively in this universe, that you can sit back and trust their leadership.

Udo Badelt, Kulturradio RBB, (Germany)

“The merit with Paavo Järvi is to be able to sit back as a listener and appreciate the natural spectacle of instrumental sounds, going between restful and contrapuntal rigour … Järvi’s approach and understanding of these works, written between 1891 to 1916, clearly allows the linear structures to emerge, nothing must remain on the surface … We experience a culinary luxurious sound …”

Dr. Ingobert Wahba, Der Neue Merkur (Germany)

Deutschlandradio Kultur has chosen the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen as “Orchestra of the year” citing it as “one of the world’s leading orchestras. Since 2004 its Artistic Director has been the Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi. Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen have had actively widely acclaimed successes with, among other things, their Beethoven project which has included worldwide tours, CD and DVD recordings. Currently, the orchestra is dedicated to the symphonic works of Johannes Brahms. For their cultural and musical outreach work the orchestra has already received several awards … In the following months Deutschlandradio Kultur will follow the orchestra, broadcasting concerts and introducing special artistic collaborations.”

Read more on deutchlandradio.de

Paavo Järvi’s recording of the Prokofiev and Shostakovich cello concertos with Steven Isserlis and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra has been nominated in the concerto category for the 2016 BBC Music Magazine Awards:

“Out of over 1,200 recordings reviewed in the magazine during 2015, 21 have been deemed the very finest by our specially assembled jury of critics and magazine editorial staff … Now we need you to help us choose the ultimate winners, and you can do just that by heading to awards.classical-music.com, listening to the excerpts and voting for your favourites (voting closes on 19 February). Everyone who votes will be able to enter a prize draw to win one of two copies of each and every nominated recording. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on 5 April at Kings Place, and in the May issue of BBC Music Magazine.”

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“A bumper review this week” writes Prestoclassical.co.uk. “Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi’s complete Nielsen symphonies with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, released to mark the 150th anniversary of the composer’s birth. Listening to these has been a mammoth task, but by no means an arduous one … I can’t think of a better navigator than Paavo Järvi to guide the ear through Nielsen’s changing symphonic languages”

Paavo Järvi is reunited with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen this week for the launch of their Brahms cycle. Following their sell out Berlin concert Der Tagesspiegel  rote “When Järvi appeared as a guest conductor with his Orchestre de Paris at the Philharmonie recently he maintained the efficient upper hand as leader. With the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen however there is no music director, simply fellow musicians, and the energy currents flow and intensify with each moment. Weariness is not something that this cohesive ensemble know about. They are driven only by their desire to raise our perception of Brahms. And this is what the Bremen musicians precisely achieved in this blazing evening.”

This weekend Paavo and ensemble will be perform the complete Brahms cycle at Vienna’s Konzerthaus and ORF TV has already singled the event out as one of the city’s spotlights.