In 2007-2008, Maestro Järvi conducts 14 subscription weeks in Cincinnati. He is expanding the 113-year-old orchestra’s repertoire with works never before performed by the CSO, and will lead two additional CSO recording projects with the Grammy Award-winning Telarc label.

Recordings
“The buzz around the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi is getting louder and stronger,” said David Patrick Stearns of the Philadelphia Inquirer about their 11th disc featuring Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2. Telarc’s other 10 discs with Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra have garnered critical acclaim, including the CSO’s September 2006 release of Britten and Elgar, which was honored with two Grammy Awards for production and engineering.

In May 2006, the CSO’s Bartók and Lutosławski Concertos for Orchestra debuted on the Billboard classical chart at number 9, and The New York Times said of it, “Mr. Järvi’s interpretations are everywhere persuasive, and the performances almost uniformly virtuosic. Telarc’s typically expansive sound is especially gratifying…” The September 2005 release, Dvořák: Symphony No. 9/Martinů: Symphony No. 2, was named Gramophone “Editor’s Choice.” Its reviewer wrote, “Paavo Järvi reveals his keen imagination and sharp concentration in both performances and under his guidance the Cincinnati SO is consistently excellent: ensemble more than matches that of the rival versions.” Music of Ravel (2004) also was named Gramophone “Editor’s Choice” and was awarded a Diapason d’or.

In January 2008, Telarc released the 13th CD by Paavo Järvi and the CSO, featuring Prokofiev's heroic Symphony No. 5 and his popular film score, the Lieutenant Kijé Suite. Mr. Järvi and the CSO’s other Telarc recordings include Romeo and Juliet: Complete Suites from the Ballet by Prokofiev, Stravinsky’s Petrouchka and The Firebird Suite, a pairing of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring with Nielsen Symphony No. 5, symphonies by Sibelius and Tubin as well as Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique.

In addition to his growing discography with the CSO, Mr. Järvi has more than 30 recordings to his credit. He is currently recording a Complete Beethoven Symphony Cycle with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie on the RCA Red Seal label. His Virgin Classics recording of Sibelius’ Cantatas with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Male Choir and Ellerhein Girls Choir won a 2003 Grammy Award for “Best Choral Performance.” Paavo Järvi’s recording of Schumann: Cello Concerto and Bloch: Schelomo featuring Truls Mork and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France was nominated for the “Best Instrumental Soloist” Grammy Award in 2005.

Conductor Engagements
In addition to his post as the CSO Music Director, in 2004 Paavo Järvi assumed the position of Artistic Director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras. He also serves as Music Director of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. He will become the seventh Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris from 2010-11. He previously held the post of Principal Guest Conductor with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Guest Conductor Engagements
Paavo Järvi’s demand as a guest conductor has led to engagements with the world’s major orchestras including Berlin, St. Petersburg and Vienna philharmonics. He also has conducted the Royal Concertgebouw and Philharmonia orchestras, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Bayerische Rundfunk, Orchestra de Paris, Orchestra National de France, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, La Scala, NHK Tokyo and London Symphony orchestras.

In North America he regularly conducts the Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony.

Background/Estonian Heritage
Born in Estonia in 1962, Paavo Järvi studied percussion and conducting at the Tallinn School of Music. He moved to the United States with his family at the age of 17 in 1980 and is now an American citizen. His studies continued at the Curtis Institute of Music under Otto-Werner Mueller and Max Rudolf, former music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, as well as at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute with Leonard Bernstein.

Paavo Järvi has championed the works of many Estonian composers including Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Lepo Sumera and Eduard Tubin. In 2002 he began a two-year term as Artistic Advisor of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and received the Kultuurkapital Award from the Estonian Ministry of Culture for promoting Estonian music in other countries.

In February 2004, Paavo Järvi was named a recipient of the “Spirit of Cincinnati” Queen City Advocate Award for bringing positive worldwide recognition to Greater Cincinnati.

October 2007

Visit Maestro Järvi’s website at www.paavojarvi.com.