Here we present the long awaited release of Paavo Järvi’s first recording of Sibelius’ complete symphonies. Since his professional conducting debut in 1985 when he conducted Sibelius’ First Symphony, Järvi has conducted seven symphonies by Sibelius throughout his long and worldwide conducting career. He has recorded albums of Sibelius including an album of collection of Cantatas which won a Grammy Award. During Järvi’s tenure as the music director of Orchestre de Paris (2010-2016), he opened his tenure with Kullervo, and subsequently performed several works of Sibelius including thee seven symphonies and for this outstanding work in France, he received Sibelius medal in 2015. This album was recorded live at Salle Pleyel and Philharmonie de Paris, and the recordings were edited from multiple performances and takes with Järvi’s supervision. This will be the first-ever recoding of Sibelius’ complete symphonies by a French orchestra, and will be the first recording by the Orchestre de Paris for RCA Red Seal.
REVIEW:
From the clarinet solo that opens No 1 to the unforgettable C major scale launching No 7, intensity and idiomatic intelligence abound. No 7 is magnificent, and aptly follows No 6 (they’re related) in this achronological sequence. The mutation of No 5’s first movement into a scherzo is effortless.
