{"id":15734,"date":"2014-02-07T05:51:52","date_gmt":"2014-02-07T09:51:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=15734"},"modified":"2014-03-15T17:40:53","modified_gmt":"2014-03-15T21:40:53","slug":"a-happy-orchestra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=15734","title":{"rendered":"A Happy Orchestra"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Sedgwick Clark<\/strong><\/p>\n

The musicians of the Philadelphia Orchestra were all smiles at their most recent Carnegie Hall concert, on Monday, February 3. Music Director Yannick N\u00e9zet-S\u00e9guin led Smetana\u2019s The Moldau<\/i>, Bart\u00f3k\u2019s Piano Concerto No. 3, with Radu Lupu as soloist, and Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s sunny Symphony No. 6. It\u2019s a happy orchestra now, after several years of economic and artistic uncertainty, and players and audience appear quite satisfied with their new maestro.<\/p>\n

I was happy throughout most of this appealingly conservative program, too, but I was also surprised to hear forced and unblended string sonority at times, and by a lack of quiet playing. Few pieces of music require a greater sense of flow than The Moldau<\/i>, and to my ears, a succession of single notes often dominated a fluid line.<\/p>\n

Bart\u00f3k was on his deathbed when he composed his gentle Third Piano Concerto as a performance vehicle for his wife, pianist Ditta P\u00e1sztory-Bart\u00f3k. Lupu played the work at his most recent New York appearance, as I recall. The second movement\u2014one of Bart\u00f3k\u2019s exquisite \u201cnight music\u201d pieces\u2014chirped raptly in Lupu\u2019s hands, and the closing Allegro vivace danced energetically. N-Z\u2019s accompaniment was well judged, never overwhelming the soloist.<\/p>\n

Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s Sixth Symphony is unfairly overshadowed by his last three masterworks of the form, and N-Z\u2019s performance was a treat, with an especially deeply felt Adagio. The audience had offered a warm welcome to N-Z at the beginning of the concert, and it roared its approval at the end. He has New York\u2019s Philadelphia fans on his side now.<\/p>\n

I sometimes wondered if N-Z were trying too hard, however, unwilling to allow the mellow Romanticism to unfold naturally. I felt this when he conducted Carmen <\/i>at the Met a few years ago (although his Rusalka <\/i>last week was ravishing). The sound coaxed from the Philadelphians\u00a0by Michael Tilson Thomas two months ago when he subbed for the indisposed N-Z at Carnegie was positively velvety in comparison (my blog, 1\/9\/14).<\/p>\n

Looking Forward<\/strong><\/p>\n

My week\u2019s scheduled concerts (8:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted):<\/p>\n

2\/9 Carnegie Hall. Garrick Ohlsson, piano. Beethoven: Sonata No. 30, Op. 109. Schubert: \u201cWanderer\u201d Fantasy, D. 760. Griffes: The Night Winds<\/i>; Barcarolle; The White Peacock<\/i>. Chopin: Sonata No. 3, Op. 58.
\n2\/11 Carnegie Hall. Boston Symphony\/Bernard Haitink; Murray Perahia, piano. Purcell\/Steven Stucky: Funeral Music for Queen Mary<\/i>. Schumann: Piano Concerto. Brahms: Symphony No. 4.
\n2\/12 Carnegie Hall. Boston Symphony\/Bernard Haitink; Susan Graham, mezzo; Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Ravel: Alborado del gracioso<\/i>; Sh\u00e9h\u00e9razade<\/i>; Daphnis et Chlo\u00e9 <\/i>(complete).<\/p>\n

2\/13 Carnegie Hall. St. Petersburg Philharmonic\/Yuri Temirkanov; Denis Kozhukhin, piano. Rimsky-Korsakov: Excerpts from The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh<\/i>. Kancheli: . . . al Niente. <\/i>Tchaikovsky: Concerto No. 1.<\/p>\n