Järvi up for fourth season
Järvi up for fourth season: Paavo returns to lead symphony Friday
by Janelle Gelfand
Cincinnati Enquirer, September 17, 2004
Conductor Paavo Järvi was sitting in a hotel room in Bremen, Germany, earlier this month, saying in a groggy voice that he'd been on the road "a little bit too long." As he mused about his nonstop summer travels, the Estonian-born maestro was anticipating his fourth season as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which begins Friday.
Janelle Gelfand: What's the most interesting thing you did this summer?
Paavo: I don't know where to start. Most recently was my Salzburg Festival debut (in Austria) with the Deutsche Philharmonie Bremen (his chamber orchestra). Another was a European Union Youth Orchestra tour, which we finished in Estonia a few days ago. The other thing was my Cleveland Orchestra debut (at the Blossom Festival).
JG: What's the first thing you'll do when you get to Cincinnati?
PJ: The routine is so clear: you get off the plane, and you basically go to your apartment and say, "Hmmm, OK, I suppose that's my home now for these three weeks." I have to start from zero, get groceries and mundane stuff.
JG: What CDs do you listen to on your way to Music Hall in your Buick SUV?
PJ: I listen to a lot of jazz - Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. I have probably all their CDs. I listen to various things, but to be honest with you, I still go back to the older stuff.
JG: As a former rocker, do you have a favorite rock band?
PJ: I don't really have one favorite, but recently I heard a new CD by Peter Frampton. It was very impressive.
JG: Is there a CD in your collection that would surprise people?
PJ: I have all kinds that don't really live up to the image of what a classical conductor would listen to - rap artists, salsa artists and so on. For example, Eminem. He's brilliant and controversial, but the stuff that he's doing is pretty hip.
JG: What do you sing to your baby daughter to get her to sleep?
PJ: Sometimes it takes quite long to get her to sleep, so I go from the slow movement of a Brahms Symphony. I sing the whole thing, and she's still awake.
JG: You're opening the symphony season with "Kullervo," an "epic" by Sibelius. What would you like the audience to know about it?
PJ: It is slightly like a Greek myth - a whole list of characters and their journeys, and how the nation of Finland was created. The strength of the piece is that it is fresh, courageous and uncompromising music.
JG: You're bringing the Estonian National Male Choir, with whom you won a Grammy last year. Is the male choir a big tradition in Estonia?
PJ: It is, and throughout history and especially during Soviet times, it was a symbol of independence. A male choir was as close as one could have 100 men onstage singing something. In any other situation, it would be called an army.
W H E N Y O U G O
What: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi, conductor; Charlotte Hellekant, mezzo-soprano; Jaakko Kortekangas, baritone; and the Estonian National Male Choir. Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3; Sibelius' Kullervo.
When: 8 p.m., Sept. 17-18.
Where: Music Hall, 1243 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine.
Tickets: $21.75-$60.50; $10 students; (513) 381-3300.
New improved Web site: The orchestra's updated site has program notes, downloadable sound bites of Järvi speaking and a flash movie of a performance. http://cincinnatisymphony.org/
by Janelle Gelfand
Cincinnati Enquirer, September 17, 2004
Conductor Paavo Järvi was sitting in a hotel room in Bremen, Germany, earlier this month, saying in a groggy voice that he'd been on the road "a little bit too long." As he mused about his nonstop summer travels, the Estonian-born maestro was anticipating his fourth season as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which begins Friday.
Janelle Gelfand: What's the most interesting thing you did this summer?
Paavo: I don't know where to start. Most recently was my Salzburg Festival debut (in Austria) with the Deutsche Philharmonie Bremen (his chamber orchestra). Another was a European Union Youth Orchestra tour, which we finished in Estonia a few days ago. The other thing was my Cleveland Orchestra debut (at the Blossom Festival).
JG: What's the first thing you'll do when you get to Cincinnati?
PJ: The routine is so clear: you get off the plane, and you basically go to your apartment and say, "Hmmm, OK, I suppose that's my home now for these three weeks." I have to start from zero, get groceries and mundane stuff.
JG: What CDs do you listen to on your way to Music Hall in your Buick SUV?
PJ: I listen to a lot of jazz - Thelonious Monk and Miles Davis. I have probably all their CDs. I listen to various things, but to be honest with you, I still go back to the older stuff.
JG: As a former rocker, do you have a favorite rock band?
PJ: I don't really have one favorite, but recently I heard a new CD by Peter Frampton. It was very impressive.
JG: Is there a CD in your collection that would surprise people?
PJ: I have all kinds that don't really live up to the image of what a classical conductor would listen to - rap artists, salsa artists and so on. For example, Eminem. He's brilliant and controversial, but the stuff that he's doing is pretty hip.
JG: What do you sing to your baby daughter to get her to sleep?
PJ: Sometimes it takes quite long to get her to sleep, so I go from the slow movement of a Brahms Symphony. I sing the whole thing, and she's still awake.
JG: You're opening the symphony season with "Kullervo," an "epic" by Sibelius. What would you like the audience to know about it?
PJ: It is slightly like a Greek myth - a whole list of characters and their journeys, and how the nation of Finland was created. The strength of the piece is that it is fresh, courageous and uncompromising music.
JG: You're bringing the Estonian National Male Choir, with whom you won a Grammy last year. Is the male choir a big tradition in Estonia?
PJ: It is, and throughout history and especially during Soviet times, it was a symbol of independence. A male choir was as close as one could have 100 men onstage singing something. In any other situation, it would be called an army.
W H E N Y O U G O
What: Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi, conductor; Charlotte Hellekant, mezzo-soprano; Jaakko Kortekangas, baritone; and the Estonian National Male Choir. Beethoven's Leonore Overture No. 3; Sibelius' Kullervo.
When: 8 p.m., Sept. 17-18.
Where: Music Hall, 1243 Elm St., Over-the-Rhine.
Tickets: $21.75-$60.50; $10 students; (513) 381-3300.
New improved Web site: The orchestra's updated site has program notes, downloadable sound bites of Järvi speaking and a flash movie of a performance. http://cincinnatisymphony.org/
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