Cincinnati Symphony's "Pathways" Series to Bring Järvi Closer to His Audience
Check your Sunday afternoons.
You may want to set some aside during the coming months for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
The CSO’s new "Pathways" Series has a lot going for it -- all of it attentive to today’s younger, busier, more budget-minded audiences.
There are four "Pathways" concerts during the 2009-2010 season. All are at 3 p.m. on Sundays: Sept. 27, January 10, March 14 and April 25.
All offer about an hour of music and cost 25 percent less than CSO evening concerts.
Each concert will be followed by a 30-minute, onstage discussion by music director Paavo Järvi, the guest artist of the day and members of the CSO. It is a brand new initiative that will bring Järvi closer to his Music Hall audience. The discussions will be moderated by representatives of radio station WGUC, FM 90.9.
The post-concert discussion on Sept. 27 will feature Järvi with violinist Alina Pogostkina and composer Erkki-Sven Tüür. Tüür's Symphony No. 7, "Pietas," is receiving its U.S. premiere on CSO concerts Sept. 25-27 at Music Hall. Moderator will be Mark Perzel of radio station WGUC, FM 90.9.
Until now, comments by Järvi have been confined to brief, pre-concert "First Notes" taped in advance and screened at the beginning of his Music Hall concerts.
It’s neither the medium nor the message that counts, said Järvi said in his Music Hall office last spring.
It's the timing.
"After the concert is always fine. People don’t really know how much concentration goes into a concert. They think you just come and conduct it. It takes a lot of concentration and preparation and it’s very easy to break it."
For that reason, Järvi does not address audiences before (or during) his concerts, as some conductors do.
"The minute you start sort of chatting away casually, you’re not there anymore. You’re not in the piece anymore."
Estonian-born Järvi has a strict pre-concert regimen. He naps for an hour and arrives at the concert hall just before curtain time. He tries to avoid conversation, his objective being to remain focused on the music he is about to make with the orchestra.
Järvi's pre-concert nap is indispensable, he said.
"It’s so much a part of my routine now that if I don’t manage to do it I actually get nervous. I think, 'umm, I didn’t take a nap.' Even if I’m not tired, I feel like I didn’t have that time where I could actually zero in, concentrate."
Although he usually does sleep, the quiet time itself is what is important, he said. "Even if you can’t sleep, you always feel rested. It’s like meditation of some sort.
"You’re using the time to concentrate. It puts a certain framework into your day, you could say. From that moment on, I am not any more available for anything else. I’m preparing for the concert and it sort of cuts you off mentally from all the everyday stuff."
Järvi follows this pattern even with a wife and two young children at home.
"Everybody in the family knows, 7 o’clock concert (7:30 or 8 in Cincinnati), 4 o’clock I’m asleep. I’m in bed."
CSO 2009-2010 "Pathways" series
- Sept. 27. Erkki-Sven Tüür, Symphony No. 7, "Pietas." Tchaikovsky , Violin Concerto. Alina Pogostkina, violin. Paavo Järvi, conductor.
- January 10. Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 3. Mozart, Symphony No. 38, K. 504 ("Prague"). Denis Matsuev, piano. Järvi.
- March 14. Henri Dutilleux, Symphony No. 1. Grieg, Piano Concerto. Jean-Yves Thibaudet, piano. Järvi.
- April 25. Berlioz, "Harold in Italy" Symphony. Respighi, "Pines of Rome." Iabelle van Kuelen, viola. Järvi.
Subscriptions are $40-$208. Call (513) 381-3300, or order online at www.cincinnatisymphony.org
Single tickets, $10-$57.75, are available as above, or at the CSO box office at Music Hall, 1241 Elm St. downtown in Over-the-Rhine. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and two hours before performances.