Järvi wants a hall as hip as your coffeehouse
By Janelle Gelfand
Cincinnati Enquirer, May 5, 2005
Paavo Järvi's wish list for perfect a concert experience: a drink before the concert in a trendy new bar, dinner afterward in a Music Hall café, a place to buy CDs and books, and great music.
"The more pleasurable you can make it, the better," says the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's music director. "My idea is to make this a real living room for Cincinnati, where people can feel comfortable and safe and at home."
As he prepared for the final concert of the season, Järvi took stock of his fourth season and the future of the orchestra as it grapples with a busy public that no longer commits to long subscription series.
Although concert attendance is improving, Järvi says, the musicians are demoralized to look out on the vast, 3,400-seat hall and see so many empty seats.
"There is a constant perception of underachieving, because of the empty seats," he says.
Board members and city leaders have been discussing potential changes to Music Hall's auditorium to make it be - or appear to be - smaller. The orchestra has consulted acoustical experts. Under discussion is building a temporary extension into the hall, for a "surround" effect, as an experiment similar to that announced Tuesday by New York's Mostly Mozart Festival in Lincoln Center.
"We're moving ahead, but slowly, because it's a very important project," Järvi says. "For anybody who is worried about the integrity of Music Hall, don't be. It is very important to us as well."
The project should include a garage adjacent to Music Hall (under serious discussion) and a restaurant, he says.
Meanwhile, Järvi worries that box office pressures will cause symphony management to demand more "accessible," well-known music, and not the new or lesser-known works.
"It's about advancement, it's about music, it's about being innovative," Järvi says. "It's about seeing older and great masterpieces in a new light, and maybe comparing them to things that people don't know."
For Järvi, this year had many highlights - among them, Sibelius' epic "Kullervo," which opened the season.
"One of the proudest moments for me was when the Estonian National Male Choir sang for the first time in Cincinnati. It certainly felt like an occasion," the Estonian native says.
His first European tour with the orchestra in November earned ecstatic reviews and a renewed European presence for the Cincinnati players.
"There's something extremely gratifying about playing Mahler in Vienna and having standing ovations," he says. "The other highlight was the Paris concert. I thought there was something very special in the air that night. Now when I go back, people talk about our concert."
And his Telarc recordings - he recorded his ninth this week of Lutoslawski and Bartok - are making an impact.
"From Hong Kong to Beijing, to Japan to all over America, they're playing our CDs, and ultimately that is doing the work," says the conductor.
IF YOU GO
What: The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi, conductor; Philip Collins, trumpet; Alexander Toradze, piano
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Music Hall
The program: Jennifer Higdon's "Fanfare Ritmico"; Shostakovich's Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings; Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4
Tickets: $17.50-$73; $10 students
(513) 381-3300 or www.cincinnati symphony.org
E-mail jgelfand@enquirer.com
Cincinnati Enquirer, May 5, 2005
Paavo Järvi's wish list for perfect a concert experience: a drink before the concert in a trendy new bar, dinner afterward in a Music Hall café, a place to buy CDs and books, and great music.
"The more pleasurable you can make it, the better," says the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra's music director. "My idea is to make this a real living room for Cincinnati, where people can feel comfortable and safe and at home."
As he prepared for the final concert of the season, Järvi took stock of his fourth season and the future of the orchestra as it grapples with a busy public that no longer commits to long subscription series.
Although concert attendance is improving, Järvi says, the musicians are demoralized to look out on the vast, 3,400-seat hall and see so many empty seats.
"There is a constant perception of underachieving, because of the empty seats," he says.
Board members and city leaders have been discussing potential changes to Music Hall's auditorium to make it be - or appear to be - smaller. The orchestra has consulted acoustical experts. Under discussion is building a temporary extension into the hall, for a "surround" effect, as an experiment similar to that announced Tuesday by New York's Mostly Mozart Festival in Lincoln Center.
"We're moving ahead, but slowly, because it's a very important project," Järvi says. "For anybody who is worried about the integrity of Music Hall, don't be. It is very important to us as well."
The project should include a garage adjacent to Music Hall (under serious discussion) and a restaurant, he says.
Meanwhile, Järvi worries that box office pressures will cause symphony management to demand more "accessible," well-known music, and not the new or lesser-known works.
"It's about advancement, it's about music, it's about being innovative," Järvi says. "It's about seeing older and great masterpieces in a new light, and maybe comparing them to things that people don't know."
For Järvi, this year had many highlights - among them, Sibelius' epic "Kullervo," which opened the season.
"One of the proudest moments for me was when the Estonian National Male Choir sang for the first time in Cincinnati. It certainly felt like an occasion," the Estonian native says.
His first European tour with the orchestra in November earned ecstatic reviews and a renewed European presence for the Cincinnati players.
"There's something extremely gratifying about playing Mahler in Vienna and having standing ovations," he says. "The other highlight was the Paris concert. I thought there was something very special in the air that night. Now when I go back, people talk about our concert."
And his Telarc recordings - he recorded his ninth this week of Lutoslawski and Bartok - are making an impact.
"From Hong Kong to Beijing, to Japan to all over America, they're playing our CDs, and ultimately that is doing the work," says the conductor.
IF YOU GO
What: The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi, conductor; Philip Collins, trumpet; Alexander Toradze, piano
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Music Hall
The program: Jennifer Higdon's "Fanfare Ritmico"; Shostakovich's Concerto for Piano, Trumpet and Strings; Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4
Tickets: $17.50-$73; $10 students
(513) 381-3300 or www.cincinnati symphony.org
E-mail jgelfand@enquirer.com
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