Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Francesca da Rimini Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich & Paavo Järvi

• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893): Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64:
• 1 Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64: I. Andante – Allegro con anima 16:00
• 2 Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64: II. Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza 13:09
• 3 Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64: III. Valse. Allegro moderato 05:56
• 4 Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64: IV. Finale. Andante maestoso – Allegro vivace 12:50
• Francesca da Rimini, Fantasy for Orchestra, Op. 32:
• 5 Francesca da Rimini, Fantasy for Orchestra, Op. 32: I. Andante lugubre 04:31
• 6 Francesca da Rimini, Fantasy for Orchestra, Op. 32: II. Allegro vivo 06:06
• 7 Francesca da Rimini, Fantasy for Orchestra, Op. 32: III. Andante cantabile non troppo 11:44
• 8 Francesca da Rimini, Fantasy for Orchestra, Op. 32: IV. Allegro vivo 03:42
• Total Runtime 01:13:58

Info for Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 5 & Francesca da Rimini

Paavo Järvi, Principal Conductor and Music Director of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich since October 2019, here launches a complete recording of Tchaikovsky's symphonies, the first in both his rich discography and that of the Swiss orchestra: When I think of the Fifth Symphony, I think of vulnerability and hope. It looks directly into our soul. It is perhaps the finest of his symphonies. The famous horn solo moves me and enriches me every time I hear it . . . Unlike the Sixth, the Fifth still holds out hope for life. The symphonic poem Francesca da Rimini op.32 completes this programme. This dark and violent symphonic fantasy after Dante , a drama of jealousy, was premiered in 1877, at the same time as Swan Lake.

«I grew up with the music of Tchaikovsky, I knew and loved it.» In his first season as Music Director, Paavo Järvi began recording the complete symphonies of Pyotr I. Tchaikovsky: all of them live from concerts at the Tonhalle Maag. Although the Tchaikovsky cycle had to be interrupted due to corona, it will be continued in March 2021. But the first result is now available with the Fifth Symphony and the symphonic poem «Francesca da Rimini».

«We have decided to make this first, as we think, wonderful result of the Tchaikovsky recordings audible as quickly as possible and to release the CD of the planned box set in advance», as Ilona Schmiel, Executive and Artistic Director of the Tonhalle-Gesellschaft Zürich says. She stands for a new sound experience that will shape the collaboration with Järvi.

Järvi himself expects that his and the orchestra's view of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 - one of his favorite works ever - will be a sonic surprise: «I have tried to find a fundamentally new approach to the interpretation of such well-known sounds with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich,» he says. «I believe that we have indeed succeeded in creating an unheard-of symphony of fate».

Only enthusiastic voices could be heard from the concerts: «One sees Järvi from the perspective of the orchestra - and thus experiences even more clearly than usual how differentiated his instructions are, how specifically he targets individual musicians, how much space he leaves them at the same time,» wrote Susanne Kübler, for example, in the Tages-Anzeiger on 09.01.20, after she had followed the recording session in the studio. «Rhythmic intricacies suddenly seem quite logical - for the musicians as well as for the listener. Christian Wildhagen writes in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung of the same date: «The fraying melodic potpourri in the fifth - especially in such a fiery and stringent interpretation as that of Järvi - suddenly becomes a whole, no less colorful and, on top of that, held together by a leitmotif that runs through all the movements and that allows Järvi to appear in ever new tonal shades.»

Tonhalle Orchester Zürich
Paavo Järvi, conductor

Paavo Järvi
ist Chefdirigent des Orchestre de Paris und seit 2004 auch Künstlerischer Leiter der Deutschen Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Als Gast dirigiert er u.a. die Berliner Philharmoniker, die Staatskapelle Berlin, das Russian National Orchestra, die Wiener Philharmoniker und die Staatskapelle Dresden. Weiterhin ist er Conductor Laureate des hr-Sinfonieorchesters Frankfurt und Music Director Laureate beim Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

Seit langem schon fördert Paavo Järvi die Werke estnischer Komponisten wie Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Lepo Sumera und Eduard Tubin. Als Künstlerischer Berater des Pärnu Festivals und der Järvi-Akademie unterstützt er aufstrebende Talente mit seinen Dirigier-Meisterkurse.

Järvi fungiert außerdem als Künstlerischer Berater des Estonian National Symphony Orchestra und gewann 2004 für seine Aufnahme der Kantaten von Jean Sibelius (Virgin Classics) einen Grammy. 2012 wurde er vom estnischen öffentlich- rechtlichen Fernsehen als Musiker des Jahres ausgezeichnet. Im Januar 2013 bekam er vom Präsidenten Estlands den Orden des weißen Sterns für seine außerordentlichen Verdienste um die estnische Kultur verliehen. Im gleichen Jahr wurde er vom französischen Kulturminister für seinen Beitrag zur Musik in Frankreich zum Commandeur de L’Ordre des Art et des Lettres ernannt.

This album contains no booklet.