TONHALLE ORCHESTRA, ZURICH – DECEMBER 2016
Paavo Järvi stepped quietly onto the podium, the musicians of the fully-filled Tonhalle orchestra shine, and even before the performance applause has completely ebbed, the 53-year-old Estonian gives the upbeat into the first movement of Robert Schumann’s “Rhenish” Symphony. With full swing he launches into the main theme which seems to fly in a great arc over the first bars … The work comes together and culminates in masterly style, gradually revealed through Järvi’s interpretation – sometimes more clearly, sometimes subliminally – by showing, for example, the contrasting interrelation, recurring accompanying figures, and the dark colors of this music. The abyss of the fourth movement, with its gravitational trombones, then becomes all the more compelling and opens up into a touching moment of the sublime. All the more convincing is the light-hearted gesture of the attacca played final: a conciliatory return to light fields.
Moritz Weber, Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 18 December 2016
… Paavo Järvi took the vivacity of the Rhenish Symphony’s first movement literally, conducting with impetus … an impulsive, heart-warming lust for life and happiness … For me this was a solid interpretation in the best sense of the word.
Rolf Kyburz, Bachtrack.com, 17 December 2016