Nathan Gunn

Baritone Nathan Gunn is a matinee idol baritone, a dyed-in-the-wool Midwesterner, an advocate for new music, a "crossover" artist, a teacher and a father of five married to his recital partner Julie Gunn.  He sings the title role in Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" July 14 and 16 at Music Hall.  With Moscow native Tatiana Monogarova as Tatyana, it will be Cincinnati Opera's first Russian Opera to be sung in the original language.
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Paavo Järvi

The family of conductor Neeme Järvi of Estonia has enough performing musicians to build a festival around -- and they have.  The first International Järvi Summer Festival takes place in Pärnu, Estonia July 28-August 4. Artistic adviser is Paavo Järvi. Stay a little longer and hear more at Leigo Lakes Music Days in South Estonia August 6, a splashy event accompanied by bonfires and color and light effects.
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When asked to compose a work for the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birth, John Adams turned to folklore, specifically a 2,000-year-old South Indian folk tale about a girl who can change herself into a tree.  Cincinnati Opera brings Adams' 2006 opera -- inspired by Mozart's "The Magic Flute" -- to Cincinnati June 30 and July 2 at Music Hall in a brand new in-house production. (first published in Express Cincinnati, June, 2011)
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Paavo Järvi's tenth season as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (2010-20110 was his last.  His international commitments had become such that clearly something had to go.  He led his first concert as music director of L'Orchestre de Paris in the fall, bringing to five the number of orchestras he served, including the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra (chief conductor) Deutsche Kammerphilharmionie Bremen (artistic director) and Estonian National Orchestra (artistic adviser).  He limited his time with the CSO accordingly, conducting only eight of the 20 season concerts, plus a non-subscription fund-raiser with Yo Yo Ma.  As always, there was outstanding music making:  Messiaen's "Turangalila" Symphony, Varese's "Ameriques" and to close out his CSO tenure, Erkki-Sven Tüür's Piano Concerto and Mahler's Fifth Symphony. 
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Järvi with Lang Lang, Music Hall, September, 2009

The 2009-2010 season was, in effect, Paavo Järvi's last season as Cincinnati Symphony music director.  Not only did he announce his departure from the orchestra (at the end of the 2010-2011 season) but it was the last season during which he conducted a full series of concerts. It was a significant year in other ways, too, with his second tour of Japan and third visit to Carnegie Hall with the Cincinnati musicians. (part nine of a continuing series)
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Paavo Järvi rehearsing the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (photo by Julia Baier)

With an increasing number of international obligations, Paavo Järvi's eighth season as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (2008-2009) was a busy one.  Recordings played a large part of it, including the CSO's first Grammy Award, Best Surround Sound, for their 2008 all-Mussorgsky album.  Also during the season, Järvi brought his Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen to Alice Tully Hall in New York and he continued his "Music Discovery Project" in Frankfurt with electronic dance music DJ Paul van Dyk. (part eight of a continuing series)
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L to R: General director Georges-Francois Hirsch of L'Orchestre de Paris, Paavo Järvi, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra president Steven Monder

  Paavo Jarvi's seventh season as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra saw a return tour of Europe with the CSO. as well as his first community concert in Cincinnati at Lakota West High School.  In May, 2007, it was announced that he would become music director in September, 2010 of L'Orchestre de Paris.  This in addition to his posts in Cincinnati, Bremen (artistic director of the Deutsche Kammerphilharrmonie Bremen), Frankfurt (music director of the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra) and Estonia (artistic adviser of the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra) sent a strong signal that a choice lay ahead.  (part seven of a continuing series)
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Järvi with (left) Charles Coleman

During his sixth year (2006-2007) as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi added another orchestra to his growing commitments, the Frankfurt Radio Orchestra (Hessische Rundfunk Sinfonie Orchester).  The year also brought a CSO tour to California and another CSO world premiere by New York composer Charles Coleman, "Deep Woods." (part six of a continuing series)   - [Read more]

L to R: Paavo Järvi, Mark Heron, Holger Kaasik, Pärnu, Estonia, July, 2005

Paavo Järvi's fifth season (2005-2006) as Cincinnati Symphony music director found him "at home" and away.  From his native Estonia, where he taught conducting master classes with his father Neeme Järvi in July 2005, to Bremen and beyond with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, to the recording studio in Cincinnati, Järvi was at home with the music. (part five of a continuing series)
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Posing with plaque of Gustav Mahler outside Konzerthaus in Vienna, Oct. 2004

With Paavo Järvi's fourth season as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (2004-2005) came their first tour of Europe together.  It also marked their return to New York's Carnegie Hall, having first performed there together in the spring of 2003. (part four of a continuing series)
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2003-2204 program book cover

Paavo Järvi's third season as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony, 2003-2004. brought the orchestra's first international tour with him, to Japan.  It was an experience that solidified his relationship with the CSO, taught them the value of sustained performance together and laid the groundwork for a wider international presence.  That spring, they "encored" with a domestic tour to Florida. (part three of a continuing series)
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"The Paavo Touch" was the slogan for Paavo Järvi's second season as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (2002-2003).  That touch extended from Cincinnati to New York, Boston and Washington D.C. as the orchestra made its first tour with him in March-April, 2003. (part two of a continuing series)
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Front page of the Cincinnati Post, Jan. 25, 2000, the day after his appointment as Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra music director was announced.

Retrospectives are most often couched in words.  Knowing that a picture is worth a thousand words, this look back at the decade Paavo Järvi spent as music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra utilizes photography as its primary medium.  Järvi accomplished much in other endeavors during his time as head of the CSO. There are photos from some of those venues and events as well.  (part one of a continuing series)

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Music director Paavo Järvi at his farewell concert with the CSO, Music Hall, Cincinnati, May 14, 2011 (photo by Richie Hawley)

Reports of waning interest in classical music do not seem to apply to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, which experienced an 11.5 percent increase in attendance during 2010-2011 over the previous season and the highest average attendance in the past five years.  This included three total sellouts in Cincinnati's over-sized (3,516-seat) Music Hall.
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Let's hear it for "Mozart: Composer Cats," the first in a series of interactive musical books, toys, CDs, DVDs, Internet and high tech apps published by Cheval Creative for the purpose of educating and empowering children by teaching classical music. The accompanying CD contains narration by conductor James Conlon.
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