PRESS QUOTES

DEUTSCHE KAMMERPHILHARMONIE BREMEN
SALZBURG WHITSUN FESTIVAL

“The Whitsun Festival owes the other great Mozart conducting performance to Paavo Järvi … The nuanced gradation of different types of allegro (majestic or lively) alone reveals this conductor’s empathy and intelligence. In the Andante cantabile of the ‘Jupiter Symphony’, he takes the opening quite gesturally, as if a figure is entering a space that is alien to it, marvelling and shy. As in the Beethoven cycle, which still sets the standard today, the harmonic structure and the woodwinds with their breath determine the tempo and phrasing: you can hear it when Järvi has the whole orchestra align itself with a chromatic upward movement of the solo bassoon.”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Jan Brachmann, 21 May 2024

“… Paavo Järvi has been the orchestra’s artistic director for twenty years – an extremely fruitful and apparently still inspiring liaison. Even Mozart’s well-known ‘Jupiter’ and ‘Paris’ symphonies seem to have been born in the moment. The tempi are sharpened without the music seeming overheated, the articulation is incredibly light-footed and the differentiated use of vibrato is almost playful and enjoyable.”
Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Marco Frey, 21 May 2024

“It absolutely doesn’t have to be 22 violins, eight cellos and five violas and double basses: Wolfgang Amadeus was able to enjoy such a line-up for his Symphony in D major KV 300a (297) Pariser once in his life. A good half of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie on Saturday afternoon was more than enough to ensure that no impact was missed in the Grosse Festspielhaus … Paavo Järvi inspired his orchestra, which was playing in a classical setting, from the beginning of the Allegro assai and also unobtrusively integrated the natural trumpets harmoniously into the overall sound.”
Drehpunktkultur.com, Horst Reischenböck, 19 May 2024

“(Mozart) Symphonies 31 and 41 are performed as a witty and even prickly conversation. An infectious, lightning-quick speech in sound, a kind of Harnoncourt on speed.”
Münchner Merkur, Markus Thiel, 20 May 2024

“Very light-footed and transparent, the conductor let the orchestra dance into the first movement of the symphony in D major and out again in the final Allegro. In the Symphony in C major, Järvi also chose an accurate and relaxed approach with fun tempo. Mozart is clear, sometimes very accurate and fresh, the conductor and his orchestra agreed.”
APA, Larissa Schütz, 20 May 2024

MÜNCHNER PHILHARMONIKER

MAHLER: Kindertotenlieder
ROTT: Symphony No. 1
with Okka von der Damerau, mezzo-soprano

“An interpretation (of Hans Rott Symphony No. 2) from the top view, brilliantly played … Järvi, the confident craftsman, keeps the symphony running hot until the single (!) cymbal hit towards the end.”

“ … Järvi and the Philharmonic are filigree workers, shaping the five pieces (Mahler Kindertotenlieder) into a fine, transparent web … An interpretation between cleverly controlled lyricism and a lush stream of sound … That sounds more like resignation – and yet does not deny the (deceptive) beauty of these songs.”
Münchner Merker, Markus Thiel, 9 May 2024

Rott’s Symphony No. 2 “ … demands the impossible of the brass players: to play lyrically all the time. The Munich Philharmonic masters this in an astonishing way. Paavo Järvi seems to believe in the piece, though it lacks contrasts. And that is the decisive prerequisite for a performance of this piece.c The final cymbal crash may not be in the score, but it is consistent. An orchestra like the Munich Philharmonic, which has an equally great Mahler and Bruckner tradition, would do well to put this work up for discussion …”
Abendzeitung München, Robert Braunmüller, 10 May 2024

DEUTSCHE KAMMERPHILHARMONIE BREMEN

SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 2
BRAHMS: Violin Concerto
SCHUBERT: Symphony No. 1
with Veronika Eberle, violin

“When Paavo Järvi conducts the Viennese Classics, the symphonies develop an energy that even their composers would probably not have dared to dream of 200 years ago. He has already demonstrated this with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie in his Beethoven project, but also in many rarely performed Haydn symphonies – most recently on Wednesday in the Elbphilharmonie with the first two symphonies of Franz Schubert … The violin concerto in D major op. 77 by Brahms sounded no less great … With the slim line-up of the Kammerphilharmonie, the symphonic work, which otherwise seemed so pithy and massive, lost all of its gravity, and Eberle was able to brilliantly reveal all the nuances of her complex violin part.”
Hamburger Abendblatt, Helmut Peters, 12 April 2024

“Paavo Järvi’s music-making at the highest level, in its immediacy, its inner consistency, combined with the orchestra’s outstanding preparation and excellent knowledge of the score, brought to life a precision of interpretation that has threatened to be lost in recent years, almost acquiring a slightly pejorative flavour. The same applies to the interpretation of the Second Symphony … Järvi is reaping the rewards of his intensive work with the Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, which has now lasted 20 years. Everything Järvi undertakes, whether the complete symphonies of Beethoven, Schumann, Brahms or now Haydn, is honoured with prestigious awards worldwide … ”
Klassik.com, Michael Pitz-Grewenig, 13 April 2024

LONDON PHILHARMONIC

STRAVINSKY: Violin Concerto
BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 7
with Leila Josefowicz, violin

“Järvi’s Bruckner scarcely has an equal today (listen to his superlative recordings with the Zürich Tonhalle orchestra) and this Seventh might, in the composer’s bicentenary year, have begun to melt the most stubborn sceptic’s heart .. Järvi makes Bruckner sound simultaneously modern and ancient; earthbound but airborne too.”
The Arts Desk, Boyd Tonkin, 8 April 2024

“The coda of the final movement was particularly thrilling … Rapturous applause all round at the end, especially for the Wagner tuba players – and for Paavo Järvi. Hopefully Järvi will return to the London concert stage soon – perhaps with Bruckner’s Eighth?”
seenandheard international.com, John Rhodes, 8 April 2024

HONG KONG PHILHARMONIC

RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Capriccio Espagnol
STRAVINSKY: Violin Concerto
SHOSTAKOVICH: Symphony No. 5
with Alena Baeva, violin

“Anything that remotely hinted at capriciousness came with biting sarcasm after the interval, as Järvi and the orchestra gave a chilling account of Dimitri Shostakovich’s Symphony no. 5. Not long into the opening Moderato, it was clear that this musical journey wouldn’t be a walk in the park … The piece finished with brilliant brass fanfares. But did they mark true victory or mocking bravado? Given Järvi’s shattering rendition, the latter is more likely.”

South China Morning Post, Christopher Halls, 1 April 2024

PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA

DEBUSSY: Prélude à l’Après-midi d’un faune
CONNESSON: Concerto Da Requiem (Concerto for Organ and Orchestra) U.S. premiere
PROKOFIEV: Symphony no. 5
with Christian Schmitt, organ

“… the Estonian conductor pulled out the stops with a performance (of Prokofiev’s Fifth Symphony) that gained depth and eloquence as it unfurled and raced boldly to a breathtaking conclusion.”

Concertonet.com, Linda Holt, 23 March 2024

“Järvi brought a baton dipped in acid to the Prokofiev, leading an account that dripped with sarcasm, resentment and edge. In constant motion on the podium, he produced a sound that felt refreshingly unfamiliar to longtime followers of this orchestra: an almost unbearable brightness in the violins that contrasted the despairing depths of the low strings and brass; an added sense of weight in the woodwind playing; a jolting barrage of percussion, from explosive timpani to unsettling snare. The roiling piano interjections in the Allegro marcato felt almost demonic here.”

Bachtrack.com, Cameron Kelsall, 22 March 2024