Get to know the incoming music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Paavo Jarvi, 37, through his recordings. The CSO's 12th music director will begin his reign in September.

        You can order his CDs through local stores or on Web sites such as Amazon.com. Most are $16-$16.99.

        Before accepting the CSO job, Mr. Jarvi held posts with the City of Birmingham (England) Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic.

        A complete list of Mr. Jarvi's recordings are on his Web site, paavojarvi.com.

        • Bernstein. Paavo Jarvi and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Virgin Classics). Mr. Jarvi, who worked with Leonard Bernstein,leads this music with explosive energy and abandon. The “riffs” in Prelude Fugue and Riffs positively swing.

        The album includes Facsimile, from Bernstein's 1946 ballet, and the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. It is stunning playing — there's no other way to describe it.

        Bernstein wrote Divertimento in 1980 for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and it has all the freshness of West Side Story. Mr. Jarvi allows his players freedom — especially in a swaggering “Blues.”

        • Shostakovich, Britten, Enesco. Leif Ove Andsnes, piano; Hakan Hardenberger, trumpet; Paavo Jarvi and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (EMI Classics). Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes performs two fiendishly difficult concertos with Mr. Jarvi, and the live recording adds an element of thrill.

        The Britten Piano Concerto, Op. 13 calls for a big technique and persuasive expressive powers — which Mr. Andsnes possesses in spades. Mr. Jarvi is an excellent partner.

        Shostakovich's First Piano Concerto has the added color of a trumpet solo (Mr. Hardenberger). The orchestra's phrasing is especially lovely in the second movement, a slow waltz.

        The album is filled out with Georges Enesco's poignant Legende for trumpet and piano.

        • Stenhammar, Symphony No. 2. Paavo Jarvi and the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra; Anne Sofie von Otter, mezzo-soprano (Virgin Classics). Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammar (1871-1927) admired Sibelius, Nielsen and Bruckner. His melodies are inventive and his sonorities recall the “Nordic” atmosphere of Sibelius.

        In the first movement of Symphony No. 2, Stenhammar took his cue from medieval melodies; the movement is set off with an arresting brass chorale. The finale evokes Swedish folklore, and features a vast fugue.

        Mr. Jarvi radiates warmth and inspires distinguished playing from his forces.

        Swedish mezzo Anne Sofie von Otter beautifully performs Two Songs, Op. 4, in Swedish. These are wondrous finds, recorded here for the first time with orchestra.

        • Sibelius, Lemminkainen Suite; Nightride and Sunrise; Luonnotar. Paavo Jarvi, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic; Solveig Kringelborn, soprano (Virgin Classics). This is an attractive grouping of tone poems evoking the Finnish landscape and the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic.

        The listener is immediately swept into Sibelius' evocative, moody world with Nightrise and Sunrise, depicting a windswept ride through the countryside. Mr. Jarvi brings out the score's intensity, while retaining gleaming smoothness in the strings.

        Sibelius' Lemminkainen Suite is warm, vivid and detailed. The famous “Swan of Tuonela” is spellbinding.

        Soprano Solveig Kringelborn performs the haunting Luonnotar, which describes the Creation according to Finnish mythology.

        • Sibelius, Kullervo. Paavo Jarvi, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra; Randi Stene, mezzo-soprano; Peter Mattei, baritone; and the National Male Choir of Estonia (Virgin Classics). Kullervo is the Finnish hero of the national epic. Although not as well known as En Saga, Sibelius' powerful earlier work is a sweeping epic itself, clocking in at more than 70 minutes. This is the first recording of Kullervo without Finnish performers.

        Although the first (orchestral) movement is quite lengthy, Mr. Jarvi leads with dramatic intensity; the vocal writing which ensues is superb. Especially compelling is the sound of the Estonian male choir. The two soloists make admirable contributions, including Swedish baritone Peter Mattei in the title role.

        • Searching for Roots. Paavo Jarvi, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic (Virgin Classics). Mr. Jarvi champions the music of his homeland with a group by Estonian composers Eduard Tubin, Arvo Part and Erkki-Sven Tuur. Tubin, who completed 10 symphonies before he died in 1982, is represented with his Symphony No. 11, finished by another Estonian, Kaljo Raid. The single movement is marked by propulsive rhythms and sweeping melodies.

        Nekrolog (1960) by Arvo Part is surprisingly dissonant. It dates from a 12-tone periodbefore the composer returned to his better-known serene style. Part's First Symphony (1964) is notable for its angular themes and unique dialogues in the percussion.

        Tuur, born in 1959, is one of the new, young generation. His roots are in the rock group he founded as a teen; he is known for his film scores. He merges 12-tone, minimalism and the laying of sounds through various events.

        Tuur's Searching for Roots (1990) begins with a kaleidoscope of bells; a Bach-like theme in the strings drifts in and out of dense textures. The album includes Tuur's Insula deserta, which starts as a lyrical melody and grows to screeching cries. Zeitraum features violent brass and percussion.

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