Paavo Järvi
The elder son of conductor Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi has achieved quite a lot, including appointments leading the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, and NHK Symphony Orchestra, among others. Although a musician of broad interests and a resident of the U.S. for the greater part of his life, he has continued to champion the music of his native Estonia in live performances and on disc. Blessed with directing gifts that transcend mere talent, he is among the handful of his generation's conductors regarded as true successors to the great maestros of the past. A dynamic recording artist, Järvi regularly issues multiple albums a year, including no fewer than four in 2024; among these was a recording of Bruckner's Symphony No. 9 with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra.
Järvi was born on December 30, 1962, in Tallinn, Estonia. He began his studies in conducting and percussion at the Tallinn School of Music. When he was 17, his father moved the family to the U.S., and Paavo entered the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, where his instructors in conducting were Otto-Werner Mueller and Max Rudolf. At the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute, he studied with Leonard Bernstein. Järvi's abilities quickly manifested themselves and led to guest engagements with such orchestras as the New York Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic, and the Berlin Philharmonic, among many others. While bearing the family name may have gotten him a hearing, Paavo Järvi's own brilliance prevailed in shaping scores and drawing quality performances from the widely diverse orchestras he faced. He was engaged as principal guest conductor by the Stockholm Philharmonic and the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and earned praise for how he filled both posts. With these groups, Järvi established himself as a presence in the recording studio, amassing an enviable collection of worldwide reviews for both his live performances and recordings.
In September 2001, Järvi became the 12th music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, succeeding Jesús López-Cobos. His debut in that post was preceded by a release on Telarc of the Cincinnati Symphony conducted by Järvi of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique and the Love Music from Roméo et Juliet. Järvi has enjoyed a longtime association with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and has led the group on several recordings, including an album of orchestral works by Arvo Pärt, as well as Sibelius' solitary opera The Maiden in the Tower. Järvi and the Estonian National Symphony won a Grammy Award in 2004 for a recording of Sibelius' cantatas. Among the Estonians championed by Järvi are Erkki-Sven Tüür, Udo Kasemets, and Eduard Tubin, together with the better-known Pärt.
In 2004, Järvi became the artistic director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, a position he still held as of the mid-2020s. Järvi served as the principal conductor of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2006 until 2014, becoming the orchestra's conductor laureate. In 2010, he also took on the role of music director for the Orchestre de Paris, where he served until 2016. Järvi continued his post with the Cincinnati Symphony until 2011, when he was named the orchestra's music director laureate. That year, he founded the Estonian Festival Orchestra as the Pärnu Music Festival's resident orchestra; he has served as its artistic director since its founding.
Järvi was named a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2012, and in 2015, he won a Sibelius Award and was named Artist of the Year by the Diapason and Gramophone magazines. He was the chief conductor of the Tokyo-based NHK Symphony Orchestra from 2015 until 2022, transitioning to the role of honorary conductor. In 2019, Järvi became the chief conductor of the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. After three seasons, his contract was extended through the 2028-2029 season.
A prolific recording artist with all of his groups, Järvi's releases include orchestral works by Stenhammar, Sibelius' Kullervo and Lemminkäinen Suite, works by Bernstein, an album of cello concertos with Truls Mørk, and an album devoted to orchestral works by Lepo Sumera. Known for issuing multiple albums yearly, Järvi was heard on recordings with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony (Pelléas et Mélisande: Schoenberg, Fauré), the Estonian Festival Orchestra (Jüri Reinvere: Ship of Fools), and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra (Mendelssohn: Symphonies and Bruckner: Symphony No. 9) in 2024.
© Erik Eriksson & Keith Finke /TiVo
Discography
210 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Mendelssohn: Symphonies
Paavo Järvi, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Klassiek - Released by Alpha Classics on 15 mrt. 2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 9 (Original Version)
Paavo Järvi, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Symfonieën - Released by Alpha Classics on 6 sep. 2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Fauré : Requiem, Cantique de Jean Racine, Super flumina Babylonis
Philippe Jaroussky, Matthias Goerne, Orchestre de Paris, Paavo Järvi
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 5 sep. 2011
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Schoenberg & Fauré: Pelléas et Mélisande
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Klassiek - Released by Alpha Classics on 5 jul. 2024
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 8
Paavo Järvi, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Klassiek - Released by Alpha Classics on 18 aug. 2023
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Haydn: London Symphonies Vol.2 Symphonies No. 94 "Surprise", No. 95, No. 98 & No. 99
Paavo Järvi, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Klassiek - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 13 nov. 2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Sibelius : Complete Symphonies
Paavo Järvi, Orchestre de Paris, Paavo Järvi & Orchestre de Paris
Symfonieën - Released by Sony Classical on 24 okt. 2018
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Sibelius: Complete Symphonies
Paavo Järvi, Orchestre de Paris
Klassiek - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 24 okt. 2018
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi
Klassiek - Released by Alpha Classics on 20 jan. 2023
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Haydn: London Symphonies Vol.1 Symphonies No. 101 "The Clock" & No. 103 "Drum Roll" (Haydn: London Symphonies Vol.1 Symphonies No. 101 "The Clock" & No. 103 "Drum Roll")
Paavo Järvi, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Klassiek - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 7 dec. 2022
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Jüri Reinvere: Ship of Fools
Estonian Festival Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Klassiek - Released by Alpha Classics on 17 mei 2024
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 1, Italian Capriccio, Waltz
Paavo Järvi, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Klassiek - Released by Alpha Classics on 8 okt. 2021
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 'Pathétique' & Romeo and Juliet
Paavo Järvi, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich
Klassiek - Released by Alpha Classics on 20 aug. 2021
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Ravel: Orchestral Works
Paavo Järvi, Orchestre de Paris
Klassiek - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 12 apr. 2023
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Schmidt : Complete Symphonies
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Klassiek - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 11 sep. 2020
Gramophone: Recording of the MonthAvailable in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Francesca da Rimini
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Paavo Järvi
Klassiek - Released by Alpha Classics on 20 nov. 2020
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Elgar: Cello Concerto - Walton: Cello Concerto
Steven Isserlis, Philharmonia Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Klassiek - Released by Hyperion on 26 feb. 2016
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 7
Paavo Järvi, Russian National Orchestra
Symfonieën - Released by PENTATONE on 1 apr. 2015
Available in24-Bit/96 kHz Stereo -
Beethoven: Complete Symphonies
Paavo Järvi, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen
Klassiek - Released by Sony Music Labels Inc. on 6 nov. 2013
Available in16-Bit/44.1 kHz Stereo -
Brahms, Viotti & Dvořák: Orchestral Works
Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Klassiek - Released by Ondine on 6 okt. 2023
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo -
Brahms, Viotti & Dvořák: Orchestral Works
Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi
Klassiek - Released by Ondine on 6 okt. 2023
Available in24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo