[Templeton]

I have really enjoyed Paavo Järvi's Beethoven cycle with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and have subsequently been exploring his other works.

I noted that a couple of posters suggested him as a possible replacement for Sir Simon Rattle, at the Berlin Philharmonic and just came across the attached interview with him, from 2013, which really reinforced, for me, what an excellent candidate he could be.

I don't think that the quality of his conducting would be disputed by most people but he presents as an incredibly balanced, thoughtful and sensitive individual during the interview and I was particularly taken with his desire to broaden classical music's appeal to younger people. During the brief time that I have been attending concerts, I have been struck by how few younger people, the under forties, appear to be attending, at least in Northern England. Perhaps, it's different elsewhere but based upon Järvi's comments, this appears to be a widespread issue.

His reverence for the Berlin Philharmonic is clearly genuine and one could easily imagine that his personality is such that he would be able to capture the correct balance of working positively with the musicians, maintaining the old traditions, whilst also promoting the new, as Rattle has done.

Anyway, enjoy the interview, which I thoroughly recommend.

[video]https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/interview/3455-5[/video]

 

[Kivimees]

Very interesting thoughts.

Too be honest, if I wanted to go for a drink, I would rather do so with Paavo than Neeme.

 

[Templeton]

Very interesting thoughts.

Too be honest, if I wanted to go for a drink, I would rather do so with Paavo than Neeme.

Thanks, Kivimees. Neeme seems pretty decent too, from what I have read, or am I missing something? However, I do agree that Paavo does come across as a very likeable, genuine and funny guy. I think that the Berliners would really love him, although his performance style might be best suited to the Vienna Philharmonic; I think that he would really bring the best out of them, as they often appear, to me, to play with a freer rein than the Berlin Philharmonic. Personality wise, however, Berlin all the way.

 

[Kivimees]

There's nothing at all wrong with Neeme's conducting - at least not with what one will find on recordings. But if we talk about being "a very likeable, genuine and funny guy", Paavo plays the role better than his father. It's almost as if Paavo is at the end of his career and Neeme is trying to make a name for himself. Many here are quite disenchanted with the way Neeme has presented himself in the last few years.