In Sunday’s (12/19) Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio), Janelle Gelfand speaks with Paavo Järvi midway through his final season as Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s music director. In a wide-ranging discussion of his decade with the orchestra, Järvi says that the most important quality for a successful music director is “that the musicians and conductor have to connect on a musical level. … If that person is also a charismatic representative of the symphony, and someone who can connect with the community and its leaders and donors and supporters, that’s fine. But none of those qualities is more important than actual musical credibility, real musical personality and a strong vision.” Regarding new music, Järvi says, “Part of the mission of an orchestra has to have is to be there to help create new music. I’m proud that we’ve done a lot of new things. People have commented, ‘Why does Paavo do things that we don’t know?’ This is my philosophy. We need to do things you may not know.”
Posted December 22, 2010
