NY Phil Substitutes Chestnuts for the Holiday

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Friday, 12 August 2011 05:00

Written by Jack Angstreich

New York Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Alan Gilbert
Polonaise from Eugene Onegin composed by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky
Valse Triste composed by Jean Sibelius
The Nutcracker selections composed by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky
Concerto for Four Violins, Opus 3, No. 10 composed by by Antonio Vivaldi
Prelude to The Afternoon of a Faun composed by Claude Debussy
Boléro composed by Maurice Ravel

On December 30, 2010, the New York Philharmonic, under the direction of Alan Gilbert, presented what proved to be an utterly delightful program, revised due to the recent snowstorm, substituting a few familiar classics for some modern works originally scheduled.

The concert opened with a thrilling rendition of the exciting Polonaise from Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, played here with a superb control of orchestral dynamics.

A luminous account of the lovely Valse Triste by Jean Sibelius followed -- in recent memory surpassed for me in intensity only by the performance of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen under Paavo Järvi, at last summer's Mostly Mozart Festival.

The ravishing selections from Tchaikovsky's gorgeous score to The Nutcracker ballet which concluded the first half of the program were irresistible and typified the ability of this outstanding ensemble to enliven even the most commonly played of works.

After intermission, four excellent Philharmonic players (Sheryl Staples, Michelle Kim, Marc Ginsberg, Lisa Kim) took the stage to act as soloists accompanied by a considerably scaled down version of the orchestra in a riveting, crystalline version of Antonio Vivaldi's magnificent Concerto in B minor for Four Violins from the great L'estro armonico collection.

A measured, lovely reading followed of Claude Debussy's early, revolutionary masterwork, the often-played but still stunning Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, memorably performed here, even if not the strongest version heard in New York in the past year or two.

The concert closed with an astonishing account of Ravel's arresting Boléro -- the most compelling performance of this unusual work I have yet encountered, with Gilbert and the ensemble displaying, again, a masterful command of orchestral dynamics, concluding one of the most enjoyable evenings of music this season.

Avery Fisher Hall
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
132 W. 65th St.
New York City
212-721-6500
nyphil.org

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