PRESS QUOTES
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
TONHALLE-ORCHESTER ZÜRICH
MAHLER SYMPHONY NO. 5
“The start of a new Mahler cycle passed its baptism of fire with flying colours in Zürich …
Järvi frees the music from its predominantly highly emotional, sometimes overly obsessive and intoxicating navel-gazing. His priority is to reveal the architecture of the monstrous symphony, to show edge and texture with clear movements and clockwork precision, to understand the score as a great whole to which the individual parts must conform … The marvellous Tonhalle Orchestra and conductor are perfectly attuned, artistically congenial partners. A stirring start has been made, and we can look forward to the sequel.”
Online Merker, Ingobert Walter, 5 February, 2024
A highly personal and outstanding interpretation … quite visceral, decidedly expressive, a touch virulent, as if spoken from the gut, with all one’s soul … The Adagietto, very measured and concise, without softness, showed Järvi’s meticulous work, capable of delving into great dynamism and intensity, while at the same time being incisive in tempi. The Estonian mesmerised with the Rondo-Finale, hardly pausing for breath, breathless, overwhelming at times.
Platea, Alejandro Martinez, 11 February 2024
“Paavo Järvi and the Zurich Philharmonic gave a committed, intense and musical performance. The maestro gives meaning to this landmark work in the repertoire with a clear reading. He knows his score intimately and knows what he wants to achieve … ”
Crescendo.be, Thimothée Grandjean, 5 February 2024
ESTONIAN FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
EUROPEAN TOUR – JANUARY 2024
When Järvi performs Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 1 with his Estonian Festival Orchestra … you can enjoy the lively, gestural, springy musical style, the rhetorical power of this well-thought-out, yet extremely spontaneous interpretation … Järvi also brought the Estonian strings to golden, red and white embers in Jean Sibelius’ fervently driven “Andanto festivo”.
Die Presse, Walter Weidringer, 26 January 2024
The entire ensemble was dramatic, engaged and played as if with one bow, producing a gripping, deeply-grounded sound … Järvi gave the finale in particular full opportunity to breathe and with it his audience the chance to take in the orchestra’s lovely sound. Energetic yet grounded, dramatic yet generous, there is little more that can be asked for from a night in the Konzerthaus, or from an orchestra in it.
Bachtrack.com, Chanda VanderHart, 26 January 2024
From the phenomenally clean, contoured strings alone, you realise in the first few seconds that this is not just a good performance, but one that has been carefully rehearsed. Järvi does not rely solely on precision, but also creates an infinite palette of moods, lively, sweeping, powerfully compact … Because everyone pulls together, Paavo Järvi is able to push the extremes incredibly far apart, mystical murmurs in slow motion are cut hard against passages at ludicrous speed, in between which the music breaks off again and again in a mysterious way.
Abendzeitung, Michael Bastian Weiss, 27 January 2024