Paavo's "Little" Band Honored with The Absolute Sound's 2004 Golden Ear Award!

Andrew Quint of AVguide.com seems to be quite a Paavo fan. In his year-end roundup of his three favorite CDs for 2004, he names Paavo's second recording with his German chamber orchestra, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen: Stravinsky: L’histoire du soldat; Ragtime; Petit Choral; Concerto in E flat (“Dumbarton Oaks”); and Concerto in D, Suites Nos. 1 and 2 as the first on his list.

He writes: "Lucky Paavo Järvi. He directs top-notch orchestras on both sides of the Atlantic and has had his efforts recorded by two labels specializing in high-resolution multichannel sound—six Telarc releases with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and one PentaTone SACD to date. This disc was favorably received by Mark Lehman in Issue 149 and I’m equally enthusiastic. Järvi describes the Bremen orchestra as 'made up of soloists.' The players certainly shine, individually and collectively, in a program of neo-classical-mode Stravinsky that’s anchored by a sharply drawn, yet never clinical account of L’histoire du soldat and rhythmically deft, subtly inflected readings of Dumbarton Oaks and Concerto in D. The eight short movements that make up Suites Nos. 1 and 2—piano pieces originally, later orchestrated by the composer—are a delight, substantial despite their brevity. The recording is stunningly lifelike, both spatially and in rendering instrumental timbres. The cimbalom, Stravinsky’s unusual and inspired choice to join the ensemble for Ragtime, is vividly reproduced; drum sound in L’histoire is exceptionally realistic. Each instrument is perfectly scaled and dimensional. Let’s hope that PentaTone gives us more Järvi with chamber forces to complement the full-orchestra repertoire he’s addressing with Cincinnati."

Hybrid multichannel SACD. PentaTone 5186 046
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