March 22, 2007

Paavo Järvi to Lead Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on European Tour in 2008

Twelve-concert, five-country European tour to include performances atConcertgebouw in Amsterdam and Salle Pleyel in Paris

CINCINNATI— Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra will return to Europe in April 2008, performing 12 concerts in five countries, including a concert at the newly renovated Salle Pleyel in Paris and the esteemed Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Two popular guest artists are featured on the CSO European Tour — the Dutch violinist Janine Jansen performing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major and Britten’s Violin Concerto and the Russian pianist Nikolaï Lugansky performing Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3.

The European tour schedule includes prestigious venues in the musical capitals of Europe — Paris, Munich, Vienna, Amsterdam and Madrid. Several of the tour stops are reengagements.

“Being reengaged by a venue is the best stamp of approval for an orchestra,” said CSO Music Director Paavo Järvi. “The presenters were extremely pleased with our performances in 2004 and the audiences were very enthusiastic.”

The tour repertoire selections include the commanding Shostakovich Symphony No. 10 and the monumental Symphony No. 9, The Great by Schubert. Opening selections include Estonian Arvo Pärt’s Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten and Mozart’s Overture to The Marriage of Figaro. The works on the individual programs both contrast and complement one another.

“Tour repertoire is carefully selected,” said Järvi. “We want to perform pieces that not only show the strengths of the orchestra but also ignite the audiences to leave a powerful impression of the CSO.”

CSO Touring

This is the third international tour for Maestro Järvi and the CSO since Järvi became music director in 2001. Previous tours have garnered critical acclaim. Of the 2004 European Tour Germany’s Frankfurter Rundschau said, “At concert’s end, the orchestra radiated the full colors of a well-oiled orchestral machine, from which every element of sound danced with technical élan…”

Järvi and the CSO also had successful tours to Japan, the East Coast and Florida together and will tour California in April 2007. The CSO regularly tours domestically and internationally in order to showcase the talent of the orchestra and to call attention to the extensive Telarc catalog of recordings. While on tour, the orchestra serves as an ambassador for Greater Cincinnati representing the rich cultural heritage of the community. The CSO finances its tours through a combination of presenter fees and corporate sponsorship.

CSO European Tour 2008 at a Glance

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is a dynamic ensemble of some of the world’s finest musicians. The fifth oldest symphony in the United States and the oldest orchestra in Ohio, the CSO was founded in 1895.

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra today has a recording contract with Telarc International, a $70 million endowment, and an operating budget that consistently places it among America’s top 10 orchestras. The CSO is the umbrella institution that includes the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and through both, the orchestra has sold nearly 10 million recordings on the Telarc label.

Paavo Järvi, Music Director

Paavo Järvi, one of the most sought-after conductors of his generation, became the 12th Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in September 2001. His dynamic leadership on the Cincinnati podium has captured international attention, attracted new artists to Cincinnati’s historic Music Hall and consistently garnered rave reviews. Järvi and the CSO have an impressive catalog of Telarc recordings together.

“The buzz around the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Järvi is getting louder and stronger,” said David Patrick Stearns of the Philadelphia Inquirer about their 11th disc featuring Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2. Telarc’s other 10 discs with Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra have garnered critical acclaim, including the the CSO’s September 2006 release of Britten and Elgar, which was honored with two Grammy Awards for production and engineering.

In addition to his post as the CSO Music Director, in 2004 Paavo Järvi assumed the position of Artistic Director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, one of the world’s leading chamber orchestras. He also serves as Music Director of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. He previously held the post of Principal Guest Conductor with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Paavo Järvi’s demand as a guest conductor has led to engagements with the world’s major orchestras including Berlin, St. Petersburg and Vienna philharmonics. He also has conducted the Royal Concertgebouw and Philharmonia orchestras, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Bayerische Rundfunk, Orchestra de Paris, Orchestra National de France, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, La Scala, NHK Tokyo and London Symphony orchestras.

In North America he regularly conducts the Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and Chicago Symphony.

Born in Estonia in 1962, Paavo Järvi studied percussion and conducting at the Tallinn School of Music. He moved to the United States with his family at the age of 17 in 1980 and is now an American citizen. His studies continued at the Curtis Institute of Music under Otto-Werner Mueller and Max Rudolf, former music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, as well as at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute with Leonard Bernstein.

Janine Jansen, violin

Janine Jansen made her United States debut with Paavo Järvi and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in November 2005. Already a star in her native Holland, Ms. Jansen has quickly gained a reputation as an exciting and versatile artist. Her debut at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw in 1997 resulted in invitations from many European orchestras. Her London debut in November 2002 with the Philharmonia Orchestraconducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy attracted immediate worldwide attention, and since then she has appeared with many of the world’s most prestigious orchestras.

Janine Jansen holds an exclusive recording contract with the Decca Music Group, and earned acclaim for her first album with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Barry Wordsworth. Her second Decca disc featured Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons. Her next disc includes the Mendelssohn and Bruch Violin concertos with Riccardo Chailly and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.

Janine Jansen was a BBC New Generation Artist and in July 2003 made her debut at the BBC Proms. In 2005 she was the featured soloist of the First Night of the BBC Proms, performing the Mendelssohn Concerto with the BBC Symphony and Roger Norrington live for television on BBC One.

In the 2006-2007 season Janine Jansen makes debuts with the Philadelphia Orchestra and New York Philharmonic, among others.

Janine Jansen studied with Coosje Wijzenbeek, at the Conservatory of Utrecht with Philipp Hirshhorn, and following her graduation (cum laude) with Boris Belkin. In September 2003 she received the Dutch Music Prize from the Ministry of Culture—the highest distinction an artist can receive in The Netherlands—after a performance of Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto with the Rotterdam Philharmonic conducted by Valery Gergiev. She received the Edison Classic Public Award in 2004 for her debut album on Decca, and again in 2005 for her Vivaldi recording.

Janine Jansen plays the 1727, “Barrere,” Stradivarius, which is on extended loan from the Elise Mathilde Fund through intermediation of The Stradivari Society® of Chicago.

Nikolaï Lugansky, pianist

Known for his superb interpretations of Rachmaninoff, Nikolaï Lugansky has been a prize winner, including the International Bach Competition in Leipzig in 1988, the All-Union Rachmaninoff Competition in 1990 and the Tchaikovsky International Competition in 1994.

Mr. Lugansky has appeared with major symphony orchestras and distinguished conductors worldwide. He made his Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra debut in December 2003. Highlights of recent seasons include a European tour with the Orchestre National de France under Kurt Masur and a tour of Japan with the Royal Concertgebouw under Riccardo Chailly.

An acclaimed recording artist with Warner Classics, Mr. Lugansky won Diapason d’Ors for his recording of the complete Chopin Etudes in 2000 and his recording of Rachmaninoff Preludes and Moments Musicaux paired with Chopin Preludes in 2001. He was awarded the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik and the Echo Klassik 2005 for his recording of Rachmaninoff Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 3, and his recording of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 for Pentatone Classics won Gramophone Editor’s Choice in February 2004. His recent releases also include a recording of Beethoven piano sonatas including the “Appassionata” and “Moonlight” sonatas.

Mr. Lugansky was born in Moscow into a family of scientists. He studied at the Central School of Music in Moscow, where his principal teachers included the renowned pianist and teacher Tatiana Nikolaeva, and Sergueï Dorensky, the current director of the Tchaikovsky School of Music in Moscow.