Familial, Geographical and Musical Connections

Anthony Tommasini, the music critic for The New York Times, gives Paavo and the Cincinnati Symphony pretty close to a "Bravo!" in his review, Familial, Geographical and Musical Connections (registration required) (1/26/05).

According to Mr. Tommasini: "... if the concert was indicative of what's going on in Cincinnati, Paavo Jarvi, now in his fourth season as the orchestra's music director, is the right person for the job. The orchestra played with robust energy, complete assurance and a rich sound that favored dark and mellow colorings.

"Two of the works - Grieg's Piano Concerto and Sibelius's Fifth Symphony - were recently presented in New Jersey on a Northern Lights program conducted by the Jarvis' young Estonian compatriot Anu Tali. (A coincidence? If so, this is getting a little strange.) But Paavo Jarvi provided a fresh and effective context for those familiar works by beginning his program with the New York premiere of Symphony No. 8, written in 2001 by Aulis Sallinen, a leading Finnish composer.

"...Mr. Jarvi and his players gave an involving and impressive account of this intriguing work. Mr. Jarvi's clear-headed and vigorous approach to Sibelius's Fifth Symphony also had rewards. It seemed a corrective [for] those who get too caught up in the work's strangeness and mystery.

"...Mr. Jarvi's Sallinen and Sibelius will stay with me. The Cincinnati Symphony seems in fine shape."


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