The program opened with a graceful account of Franz Joseph Haydn’s appealing Symphony No. 96, “The Miracle”. This was followed by the New York premiere of the not uninteresting Switch, a percussion concerto by Andrew Norman. Within the first couple of minutes, percussionist extraordinaire, Colin Currie bounded out of the second row in the audience and ran onto the stage, athletically meeting the considerable logistical challenges posed by the work, which was effectively played by the ensemble. The young-looking and handsome composer took the stage for a bow (his new piano concerto was played by the New York Philharmonic in December while another work, Play: Level 1, received its New York premiere with Los Angeles Philharmonic at Geffen Hall in March).

 

The concert reached its apotheosis at the outset of its second half with a thrilling performance of a selection of excerpts from Sergei Prokofiev’s dazzling ballet score, Romeo and Juliet, displaying to the fullest the superior musicianship of this orchestra. The program closed strongly with a confident reading of Béla Bartók’s haunting Suite from his ballet score for The Miraculous Mandarin.