“It doesn't get much better than that.”

        That comment, overheard at the breathtaking conclusion of Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique Thursday night, summed up the performance by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under its next music director, Paavo Jarvi.

        In his first concert here since being named the CSO's 12th music director in January, Mr. Jarvi elicited incredible playing from the musicians.

Maestro Paavo Jarvi conducts the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Thursday. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        This was electrifying music making, that transfixed the audience of 1,987 and brought them cheering to their feet. It also offered a glimpse of the orchestra's future with Mr. Jarvi, who starts his tenure in Sept. 2001 — and the future looks exceedingly bright.

        The 37-year-old maestro is not overly emotive on the podium, but he exudes confidence, musicality and genuine enthusiasm. So far, his only apparent change is to move the cellos to the outside. But in terms of sound, he is cultivating a refined, precise and well-balanced instrument.

        Symphonie fantastique, which formed the program's second half, was taut, crisp and dramatic. Mr. Jarvi brought wonderful imagination to its program: drug-induced fantasies of a young artist who is hopelessly in love.

        The strings were luminous in “Reveries, Passions”; “A Ball” was played with a sense of spontaneity. Indeed, the musicians, who will record this with Mr. Jarvi for Telarc, played on the edges of their seats. The horns were superb; the winds phrased beautifully.

        A stunning moment came in “Scene in the Country,” when principal English horn Robert Walters' Ranz des vaches (shepherd tune) was echoed from Music Hall's gallery by Lon Bussell.

        Mr. Jarvi's dynamics were wide-ranging; every accent and crescendo was etched in bold relief. He propelled the music with incisive rhythmic control, even as it grew more frenzied.

        The tension in “March to the Scaffold” was palpable; the grotesqueness of “Witches' Sabbath” was hair-raising. (Kudos to associate principal clarinetist Anthony McGill.)

        In contrast, there was warmth to the expression in the “Love Scene” to Berlioz's Romeo et Juliette, which opened the evening. This was lyrical and gentle, and the orchestra played with memorable lightness.

        Yoon Kwon, 21, drew a pure, sweet tone from her Guadagnini violin in Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major. A high point came in the slow movement, notable for her beautiful line. She is an elegant technician, although I wished for more expression and presence. But at 21, she has a promising talent.

        Mr. Jarvi supported her flawlessly.

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