PRESS QUOTES

TONHALLE-ORCHESTER ZÜRICH
SUMMER 2023 FESTIVALS

BBC PROMS

BEETHOVEN: The Consecration of the House Overture
TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto
DVORÁK: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World”
with Augustin Hadelich

“… when the performances (of Dvorak’s New World Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto) are as sharp and fresh as those on offer from the versatile Estonian Paavo Jarvi and his Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich, it really does feel as if you might be hearing these mighty warhorses for the very first time.”
The Times, Geoff Brown, 31 August 2023

“Dvorak’s symphony sounded more than usually fresh and forceful, with an additional layer of sonic enchantment. The piece is full of colours that often sweep by unnoticed … There they all were, quivering under the magnifying glass of the Zürich/Jarvi sound, while the chords that support the famous cor anglais solo were so hushed and tender that you held your breath. A formidable display of soft power.”
The Spectator, Richard Bratby, 9 September 2023

“Dressing old favourites anew, brushing away cobwebs, was the heartbeat of this concert. Nothing was ordinary or routine … Järvi’s magnificent reading (of Dvorak’s New World Symphony) floored me. This was a golden account of the daring-to-risk variety, the stakes high … Järvi’s discreet rubatos and commas, his trademark control of tempo and time changes, the cultured way he welds and cadences structure – globally and internally – lifted events to a quite extraordinary degree. The stuff of memory.“
Classicalsource.com, Ateş Orga, 1 September 2023

“Järvi, together with his splendid orchestra, ensured that this magnificent Overture’s ceremonial, ornamental, transporting and exhilarating aspects were in place – plenty of detail, distinctive timbres, and singular purpose.”
Colin’s Column, Colin Anderson, 31 August 2023

GEORGE ENESCU FESTIVAL

BRUCKNER: Symphony No. 9

“The contrasts between the fulminating brass and the at times soft, floating strings were commanding in the reading, the chordal clashes of the same strings stirred the spirits, the overwhelming tutti with percussion and brass in the foreground unsettling. There was a logic to the reading and interpretation of the score of this great symphonist that was Anton Bruckner, and the combination of Swiss musicians and their Estonian conductor was unforgettable.”
Adevarul, Costin Popa, 11 September 2023

“The musicians of the Tonhalle Zürich give a very fine performance, with many contrasts and fine nuances, and play as passionately and intensely as ever. Paavo Järvi shows his musicians the way with clarity and dedication. Time stood still at the end of the symphony, where silence reigned before the audience warmly applauded the artists for this very fine performance.”
Crescendo.be, Thimothée Grandjean, 6 September 2023

“ Paavo Järvi displayed perfection, leading a superb orchestra (Tonhalle) through Symphony no. 9 … It’s hard to say what was more beautiful: the perfect brasses, the percussion very present in this work, the strings with an immersive texture… the Tonhalle remains one of the best orchestras heard in the Enescu Festival, just like in the 2021 edition. And much of the credit, if not all, goes to Paavo Järvi as music director …”
Despre Opera, 7 September 2023

PRAGUE DVORAK FESTIVAL

DVOŘÁK: Cello Concerto
DVOŘÁK: Symphony No. 9 “From the new World“
with Anastasia Kobekina, cello

“… In Paavo Järvi’s hands, the New World Symphony came to life in an unprecedented experience. The players followed their chief conductor, known for his affection for Czech music, to all corners of Dvořák’s world … It was one of the most interesting interpretations of this symphony – playful, joyful, dancing, lovely, full of energy and an intoxicating sound.”
Novinky, Právo, 8 September 2023

“Järvi brought the New World Symphony to a perfect gradation, the orchestra to the limit of its possibilities and the audience to the boil … Järvi has matured into an unrivaled conducting personality with a deep understanding of the interpreted work and a relaxed stage presence, and Dvořák’s Novosvětská has no weak spot, it breaks hearts and shakes the knees.”
Harmonie, Martin Jemelka, 8 September 2023

“This concert raised the question as to why the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich is not more widely recognised as one of the most distinguished orchestras. The superb performance was spiced up by its conductor with a tasteful, superior measure of expressiveness, blended with the necessary ingredient of momentary inspiration. Nothing stilted or outmoded. Järvi’s performance of Dvořák’s Ninth ranks among the most unforgettable.”
Klasikplus, Daniel Pinc, 8 September 2023

LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
OPENING CONCERTS OF THE LUCERNE FESTIVAL

MAHLER: Symphony No. 3
—
MOZART: Piano Concerto No. 9, K. 271 ’Jeunehomme’
BRAHMS: Symphony No. 4
with Maria João Pires, piano

“Abbado’s worthy successor … From Mozart to Mahler, Paavo Järvi has set new standards in conducting here in Lucerne, an epicenter of orchestral art. Anyone who competes here with this orchestra in the future will have to be measured by that.”
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Jan Brachmann, 16 August 2023

“The interaction in and with the orchestra (which also includes quite a few of “his” Tonhalle musicians) worked brilliantly … Long silent seconds after the final chord followed by frenetic cheers of the previously highly disciplined hall.”
Tages Anzeiger, Peter König, 13 August 2023

“Järvi has the ability to see beauties with an uncelebratory eye: his goal is not to become a hero in a novel either. This means that there is a score in front of him that has taken a lot of work to be mastered. It is clear to him that his orchestra should not die in beauty, there is more thought than dreamed here.”
Luzerner Zeitung, Christian Berzins, 12 August 2023

“The result for Mahler’s Third Symphony? Soli of great beauty, with superb colors, but above all which have blended admirably into the orchestral mass. And despite all these individualities, Paavo Järvi managed to give cohesion to the whole and to stay the course, maintaining the musical tension from start to finish … The deep and mystical dimension of the work is fully apparent in the last movement, with splendid strings, joined by radiant brass. A superbly mastered crescendo, which suspended time. The audience was in heaven.”
Concertonet, Claudio Poloni, 13 August 2023

LONDON PHILHARMONIC ON TOUR:
KATOWICE KULTURA NATURA FESTIVAL

SIBELIUS: ‘Finlandia’
LUTOSŁAWSKI: Concerto for Orchestra
SIBELIUS: Symphony No. 5 in E flat major, Op. 82

… Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra was a first-rate performance. In terms of the multiplicity of narrative planes, the richness of dynamic shades, the combination of discipline and imagination, the clarity of rhythm and emotional suggestiveness, it was in every way satisfying and thrilling … As with the Finlandia – already performed at full throttle, the predatory and dynamic opening with sharp timpani strokes and feisty string entrances left no doubt that this would be a sensational performance.

.. After the intermission, Sibelius’ Symphony No. 5 … a rousing performance in which there was not a single dull moment … a complete triumph. Järvi conducted with economical, circular gestures, and it was clear that he has an excellent rapport with the orchestra.

Katowice Cultura Natura, 22 May 2023

DIE DEUTSCHE KAMMERPHILHARMONIE BREMEN

HAYDN: Symphonies Nos. 93 and 104

“Haydn’s Symphony No. 93 opened the evening, the 104th closed it: complete perfection of form, but with nothing hollow about it … Järvi and the orchestra approached the music in such a subtle way that the sharply defined form was not forced, but merely precisely drawn.”
Frankfurter Rundschau, Judith von Sternburg, 10 May 2023

“The orchestra and Paavo Järvi masterfully understood how to work out the many contrasts in the music and build up a captivating tension. The slow passages were performed with sensitivity and intensity, while the fast and virtuosic passages were executed with playful ease and the greatest precision.”
Online merker, Dirk Schauss, 9 May 2023

“Detailed work but an atmosphere of easy, fluid communication, in a relationship that more than one orchestra and conductor would envy … it is difficult not to feel enveloped in the tide of vitality, of joy of the spirit that these musicians of the DKAM transmit … Järvi’s interpretation did not iron out any edges, in fact he emphasized the search for surprise, the contrast, the richness of accents, making the most of the silences, the vivacity of impulse in the rhythmic drawing and, finally, that general atmosphere of contagious vitality that derives from it all.”
Scherzo, Rafael Ortega Basagoiti, 9 May 2023

“ … these were exultant, richly grained readings, throatily and reedy voiced. Tight articulation, precision dots and slurs, buoyant rhythms, grandly rooted tuttis, breathed solos, civilised conversazione, making the most of accents and hairpin dynamics, alert to the smallest detail and agogic. Järvi’s manner and gallantry lit the music at multiple levels … coaxing every shade and innuendo from his players … “
classicalsource.com, Ateş Orga, 7 May 2023

“A joyful energy governs the musically well-crafted performance … this mischievous interpretation captivates us from beginning to end.”
“crescendo.be, Thimothée Grandjean, 6 May 2023

PHILHARMONIA ORCHESTRA

MAHLER: Symphony No. 3
with Hogni Wu

“So, did Paavo Järvi and the Philharmonia let the monsters loose? They did. The introduction was thrillingly eruptive, with braying brass, seismically uprushing basses and ear-splitting drums. It was as stupendous and astonishing as it must have been for Mahler’s first audiences … I have never heard a performance of this dizzyingly multifarious symphony that was so clearly and consistently the outworking of a single vision, generated and sustained by a single impulse.”
Seen and Heard International, Chris Kettle, 18 March 2023

“… masterful conducting, effortless in every gear change … The echo-aftermath of the horns’ big summons at the start was especially startling … “
The Arts Desk, David Nice 17 March 2023

BERLINER PHILHARMONIKER

MESSIAEN: Les Offrandes oubliées
HOSOKAWA: Violin Concerto (world première)
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 ‘Eroica’
with Daishin Kashimoto

“From the moment Paavo Järvi raises his arms, there is something hanging in the room that can only be described with the word magic. It is inexplicable why some conductors can conjure up such a fantastic sound from an orchestra like the Berlin Philharmonic and others cannot. Järvi doesn’t actually do much, his gestures are modest, minimalist, he’s not a desk pig. But maybe that’s exactly his secret: Precisely because he is so deeply rooted in his own self, he can let go of the reins and encourage others to work true miracles.”
Der Tagesspiegel, Udo Tadelt, 3 March 2023

“ … the celebrated Beethoven conductor showed how structural awareness and music-making characterised by elemental power can be optimally combined in the “Eroica”. The pale pianissimo in the Funeral March was just as inspiring as the wide-ranging crescendos in the opening movement or the tingling motoricism in the Scherzo. Deservedly, there was frenetic applause in the sold-out Philharmonie afterwards.”
Berliner Morgenpost, Mario-Felix Vogt, 3 March 2023