Two anecdotes about Neeme that BIS CEO Robert von Bahr has shared over the years. One, he's such a fast learner and score reader that he can parachute in to almost any session. There was one story about some BIS recording where he had to fill in for someone else, and he just grabbed a copy of the score, got on the plane, read/notated through it on the plane, and was ready to go when he landed. (This fits in with his style of conducting, too.) The other one is even more interesting. Neeme called RvB once and said, "Do you know this music?" and started playing a recording of music into the phone. RvB made a bunch of guesses and NJ gleefully kept going "No! Nope!" Finally NJ said, "It's Eduard Tubin." and RvB immediately said, "Let's record all of it." They recorded the first volume in complete secrecy, thinking that they would go to Tubin's house with the finished record and surprise him and make him happy. Well...then during the editing process, Tubin died. RvB says he learned his lesson after that and when it was time to do Holmboe, instead of trying to surprise him with the finished albums, they called Holmboe before recording to tell him. That way, if ol' Vagn croaked, he'd at least know that his music was being recorded before he died.

Neeme Jarvi is one of the truly wonderful people of the music profession, warm, generous and, in may ways...like a starry-eyed kid who absolutely LOVES exploring and performing. Dave's comments about him and his music are spot-on. Many orchestras love his easy-going approach, and appreciate his "turning them loose"; others (I spoke with a few players of the Cleveland Orchestra) were under-whelmed, since they were expecting to work in greater detail. But he is who he is, and results are often splendid. (I heard him do a CSO concert-- a long one--which he ended with the wild n' crazy "Jester's Dance" from Tchaik's SNOW MAIDEN; he had the place in a joyous uproar, and the dummies who left early because they didn't know the work had NO idea what they missed). Maestro Jarvi conducted the premieres of two of my works, one with Detroit ('91), the other with Chicago ('97), and his enthusiasm, care and generosity were astounding. In both cases, he insisted that I stand on stage with him at the first rehearsal, instructing me to "tell the players what you want!" Very cool. I was the cover conductor for my CSO work, and Neeme actually floated the idea with me that he become mysteriously indisposed (for my work only) at the final performance, saying "We'd like to see what YOU think of your own work." That idea was nixxed by management. But...what a guy! I was hoping to see Jarvi's Prokofiev "Cantata for the 20th-Anniversary" in the set, a STUNNING performance of that gargantuan work. I had a (secretly acquired) copy of the full score from Moscow, and Jarvi asked that I send him a copy, which I did (he told me he had conducted it years earlier for Estonian Radio). Before you knew it, Jarvi's great performance was released on Chandos (he later told me about how they did some of the "revolutionary" sound effects). There's also a very interesting story on the recording of Jarvi's Franz Schmidt Symphony No. 2 in Chicago, which is how I first met him. But, that's for another time. The last time I saw Jarvi with the CSO, he had definitely slowed down a bit, still with his natural, unaffected warmth and grace. I hope he will continue to enlighten the musical world by championing the underdogs for as long as he is able; he's truly one of a kind. LR

I saw Järvi in concert some years ago and not only he conducted in a exciting and refreshing way, but he also was quite charming to the public, making gestual jokes and dancing in the rostrum. And he gave us the most exciting Ginastera's Malambo I've ever heard. And we must add he has given us two other excellent conductors: Paavo and Kristjan. Excellent, but without his charisma, I would add. Long life to Neeme Järvi!!!

I was privileged to work with Neeme Järvi when he conducted my orchestral work “Red Oak Dawn” with the New Jersey Symphony about 15 years ago. Needless to say, one of the highlights of my career. And yes, I was wondering whether you’d come across his “scarf” photo. 😀 Overall. Neeme Järvi is a delightful guy to hang with. And his sons Paavo and Kristjan are great guys too.

Jarvi is a fun conductor. I think his Kalinnikov Symphonies recording gets more airtime on DC public radio than all of the Mighty Handful combined. I saw him in Philadelphia when he was filling in for Muti. I was sitting behind the orchestra and got to see how much fun he was having conducting Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis. The orchestra really responded.

A great summary of Jarvi. I loved the fact that he did repertoire that other conductors would not touch. Chandos has to be congratulated as well. They gave him to tools to record some really unsung stuff and he did a marvellous job. Even some Estonian Composers such the Kapp family he recorded.

I had the great fortune of attending a stunning performance of Tchaikovsky's Onegin in Buenos Aires back in 1977, when he was still quite unknown (and with his name transliterated as Yärvi), an absolutely memorable event. I remember that his stay in the city coincided with a major earthquake that essentially wiped out the town of Caucete, in the western part of the country. Järvi generously conducted a benefit concert, quickly put together, with all proceeds going to the victims. A moving gesture, and a fantastic musical occasion, presenting, if memory serves, Sibelius' Finlandia, Strauss' Don Juan, and Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5. Attending that concert, and the opera performance, of course, are among my treasured musical memories, and since then I retain a special affection for the Estonian maestro.

The recording of Neeme Järvi and Geoffrey Tozer of the Medtner piano concerto 2 is absolutely impressive.

Golly, I'd never heard the Jarvi-Felicity Lott Strauss Four Last Songs, and what a gorgeous performance! She's wonderful, and Jarvi is SO good at just letting an orchestra fade away, like life sometimes does, certainly in these songs.

Loved his tenure in Detroit. A favorite disc from that time is the Naxos recording of three works by Michael Daugherty.

I have a plethora of Jarvi’s recordings with the RSNO. And so many of them are really top shelf. One disc I would have liked to see included in this set is “Music from Estonia”, Volume 1 (of 2). Of particular note is the Symphony #1 of Kaljo Raid. Another example of Jarvi’s penchant for selling the virtues of hitherto unknown repertoire.

A great example of Jarvi doing many things well is the video of him conducting Massenet's Meditation from Thaïs with Janine Jansen and the Berlin Philharmonic at the Waldbühne. When the music starts, the large outdoor audience is chatting and murmuring, and by the end they are silent, rapt, because it's a great performance.

The one recording I would have loved to seen in this set is Jarvi's performance of Tchaikovsky's 7th. No one did that piece better than Jarvi. What makes that disc truly special, is the 3rd Piano Concerto- which came from the incomplete 7th.

Great video! Jarvi is a clean, lean, conducting machine. I've enjoyed his Chandos recordings for a long time and now I'm really tempted to buy this interesting box set.

Great review of a wonderful musician. I wish they'd included his fabulous, lacerating Shostakovich 4th Symphony; his equally brutal Prokofiev 3rd and the sonic splendor of Alexander Nevsky and the Scythian Suite (his version of the Enemy God in that is like a sonic steamroller and as exciting as hell). I also love his version of Rachmaninoff's The Bells.

I love Neeme Järvi, and I love this video just as much!

I do wish the box includes the recordings of the music of Glazunov and Kalinnikov. Jarvi's renditions of Glazunov's Stenka Razin, The Sea, From the Middle Ages, and Scenes de Ballet remain the best currently available while The Seasons ballet is in every way enjoyable. His Kalinnikov is superb and quite absorbing. Also his Schmidt, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Reger recordings are curiously left out (as is Creston's quintessentially American Second Symphony, performed with vim and vigor by him and the Detroit SO).

One of my favorite conductors for a long time; still reigns supreme in a lot of Russian repertoire. Maybe not so much in the mainstream rep though. His Brahms cycle and Mahler aren't all that great. He's still recording, albeit at a slower pace than 30 years ago (who isn't?) but there is one thing he still owes us - before it's too late! And that's Gliere's Third Symphony, Ilya Murometz.

thanks for this; you mentioned Jarvi's Mahler, i remember back in the day when i didn't have a lot of money, i was really excited about his Mahler 6 purely because it was on one CD (thus affordable). and then i find out it was actually pretty excellent.

A pity Chandos didn't include the CD featuring Langgaard's Symphonies 4, 5 and 6 with the Danish National Radio SO or so. Splendid performances of those works, especially the 6th which is the most exciting out there. Really hot stuff. I had replaced Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker or Brahms's Hungarian Dances with the Langgaard. We already have tons of recordings of those warhorses, but we don't of the Langgaard that much.

Jarvi is adored by the classical music going public in Scotland thanks to all the miracles he pulled off with the RSNO.

Another FABULOUS recommendation. Keep ‘em coming!

Very nice video on Jarvi...for decades I was waiting for him to record Shostakovich's The Execution of Stepan Razin because if there was anyone who might rival Kondrashin's fiery performance it would be him. I guess that he was not a fan of the work because it never came to be, though his son Paavo did give Stepan a go.....

Wow what an interesting mix. A little old, new, super unknown and way too standard! Kept waiting for y her three discs I’ve kept close through the years: Proko 2 (obviously out from the start), Schmidt 2 with CSO, and the Roussel 3 with DSO. I love the new series of French music (SS, Ibert, Massenet, Delibes) and wish this was around when I started collecting.

I wish they had focused on more of the releases with the DSO, because those releases not only highlight a lot of composers that don't get a lot of attention but they were quite good. Hoping they get the fortitude to release more of these in a boxed set for all of us completionists out there.

Neeme Jarvi always has seemed worth hearing. I remember him visiting the Minnesota Orchestra years ago doing, as I recall, the Prokofiev 6th and a Nielsen symphony in different concerts, both sensationally. Also was at an after-concert party a few years later where Carter Brey, the noted long time principal cello of the NY Phil was the soloist that evening with the St Paul Chamber Orchestra. While briefly meeting Brey, he mentioned casually his strong dislike for Jarvi's conducting with his own orchestra. Perhaps they were playing Beethoven, or something. But the NY Phil has had a reputation for many years of being very tough on conductors.

Thanks Dave, it is very useful to learn about the background context of Jarvi’s career. There’s an interview with Jarvi in the latest issue of “DSCH Journal” where the man’s good nature, intelligence, and passion for Shostakovich really shines through. What a wonderful maestro Jarvi is, particular for us musical Russophiles. I actually have Jarvi’s Mahler 7 for Chandos on SACD arriving in the mail shortly and I can’t wait. I’ll be grabbing this box too on the strength of this outstanding review.

A Chandos box I would love to have would be that whole Bamert "Contemporaries of Mozart" series with the London Mozart Players, all of it in one manageable box. I only have the Vanhal symphonies but I keep listening to that series on KZfaq. Does anyone know, does such a box exist? And to make it even better they can throw in the Dittersdorf Ovid Symphonies as a bonus!!

Still available 3 years later😎 no big, big box yet,

Hello Dave. Thank you very much for making this talk. Now I would like to ask you to talk about the Bernstein Sony boxes. Please Mr Hurwitz för try

Actually, Jarvi did record all of Atterberg's symphonies (a Google image search of "jarvi atterberg symphony" will confirm that).

I wish they had included one of his Tchaikovsky's complete ballet recording..