Paavo Järvi. Photo © Kaupo Kikkas

Paavo Järvo on Franz Schmidt

Estonian conductor Paavo Järvi has followed in the footsteps of his father Neeme and recorded the complete symphonies of Austrian composer Franz Schmidt (1874-1949). Perfect examples of the late-Romantic tradition, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra give stellar accounts of all four works on Deutsche Grammophon. Clive Paget caught up with the maestro to discover just what it is about Schmidt that gets his musical juices flowing.

When did you first come across Franz Schmidt and his four symphonies?

As with so many other pieces, I really got to know them through my father as a kid. He was always introducing us to different unknown composers, so to...