{"id":3847,"date":"2012-02-08T15:31:59","date_gmt":"2012-02-08T19:31:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=3847"},"modified":"2012-03-18T15:52:59","modified_gmt":"2012-03-18T19:52:59","slug":"a-genuine-jolt-at-the-nyphil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.musicalamerica.com\/mablogs\/?p=3847","title":{"rendered":"A Genuine Jolt at the NY Phil"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic are on a European tour for a couple of weeks, and for a change I didn\u2019t roll my eyes in despair when I saw the list of repertoire. His predecessors as music director, Kurt Masur and Lorin Maazel, for all their superb work at building the ensemble, utilized Dvo\u0159\u00e1k\u2019s \u201cNew World\u201d Symphony (1894) as the orchestra\u2019s calling card. But not only has Gilbert leapt ahead half a century to show off the ensemble with another Philharmonic commission conducted by its composer at its premiere, Stravinsky\u2019s Symphony in Three Movements<\/em> (1946), on February 17 he has included the U.K. premiere of Thomas Ad\u00e8s\u2019s hot-off-the-press Polaris<\/em>, which the Phil played in its New York City premiere only a month ago. Moreover, he has also programmed Composer in Residence Magnus Lindberg\u2019s 1997 F\u00e9ria <\/em>three times.<\/p>\n

The repertoire list below must come as a genuine jolt to anyone who has looked at how the orchestra presents itself to the world. Not even Zubin Mehta, who was not averse to contemporary music during his tenure, had the nerve to acknowledge the 20th century so thoroughly on tour. The only German chestnut here is the Beethoven Violin Concerto. And while Lang Lang plays the First Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto three times, he also plays Bart\u00f3k\u2019s Second Concerto thrice on a\u00a0bracing program that begins with the Lindberg piece and ends with Prokofiev\u2019s Fifth Symphony.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t get me wrong. These programs are hardly the adventures of the Boulez years. But when it seems that everyone\u2019s idea of selling tickets these days is to advance to the rear, I applaud Gilbert and my home orchestra for\u00a0making a statement\u00a0on tour with meaty works by Bart\u00f3k, Stravinsky, and Prokofiev and hors d’oeuvres <\/em>by Ad\u00e8s and Lindberg.<\/p>\n

EUROPE \/ WINTER 2012 <\/strong>
\nNew York Philharmonic
\nAlan Gilbert, conductor<\/p>\n

Feb. 2, 8:00 pm (Cologne, Philharmonie)
\n<\/strong>Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin
\nBeethoven: Violin Concerto
\nStravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
\nRavel: Daphnis and Chloe<\/em> Suite No. 2<\/p>\n

Feb. 3, 8:00 pm (Luxembourg, Salle de Concerts)
\n<\/strong>Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin
\nBeethoven: Violin Concerto
\nStravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
\nRavel: Daphnis and Chloe<\/em> Suite No. 2<\/p>\n

Feb. 4, 8:00 pm (Luxembourg, Salle de Concerts)
\n<\/strong>Lang Lang, piano
\nTchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
\nProkofiev: Symphony No. 5<\/p>\n

Feb. 6, 8:00 pm (Paris, Salle Pleyel)
\n<\/strong>Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin
\nBeethoven: Violin Concerto
\nStravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
\nRavel: Daphnis and Chloe<\/em> Suite No. 2<\/p>\n

Feb. 7, 8:00 pm (Paris, Salle Pleyel)
\n<\/strong>Lang Lang, piano
\nLindberg: F\u00e9ria<\/em>
\nBart\u00f3k: Piano Concerto No. 2
\nProkofiev: Symphony No. 5<\/p>\n

Feb. 8, 8:00 pm (Frankfurt, Alte Oper)
\n<\/strong>Lang Lang, piano
\nLindberg: F\u00e9ria<\/em>
\nBart\u00f3k: Piano Concerto No. 2
\nProkofiev: Symphony No. 5<\/p>\n

Feb. 9, 8:00 pm (Frankfurt, Alte Oper)
\n<\/strong>Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin
\nBeethoven: Violin Concerto
\nStravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
\nRavel: Daphnis and Chloe<\/em> Suite No. 2<\/p>\n

Feb. 11, 8:00 pm (D\u00fcsseldorf, Tonhalle)
\n<\/strong>Lang Lang, Piano
\nTchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
\nProkofiev: Symphony No. 5<\/p>\n

Feb. 1, 8:15 pm (Amsterdam, Concertgebouw)
\n<\/strong>Frank Peter Zimmermann, violin
\nBeethoven: Violin Concerto
\nStravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
\nRavel: Daphnis and Chloe<\/em> Suite No. 2<\/p>\n

Feb. 14, 8:15 pm (Amsterdam, Concertgebouw)
\n<\/strong>Lang Lang, piano
\nTchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
\nProkofiev: Symphony No. 5<\/p>\n

Feb. 16, 7:30 pm (London, Barbican)
\n<\/strong>Mahler: Symphony No. 9<\/p>\n

Feb. 17, 7:30 pm (London, Barbican)
\n<\/strong>Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano
\nAd\u00e8s: Polaris<\/em> (U.K. Premiere)
\nBerlioz: Les nuits d\u2019\u00e9t\u00e9<\/em>
\nStravinsky: Symphony in Three Movements
\nRavel: Daphnis and Chloe<\/em> Suite No. 2<\/p>\n

Feb. 18, 4:00 p.m. (London, Barbican)
\n<\/strong>Young People\u2019s Concert: Bernstein\u2019s New York<\/em>
\nLeonard Bernstein\u2019s New York
\nJamie Bernstein, host
\nBenjamin Grosvenor, piano
\nBernstein\/Peress: Overture to West Side Story<\/em>
\nCopland: \u201cSkyline\u201d from Music for a Great City<\/em>\ufffd
\nStrayhorn: \u201cTake the \u2018A\u2019 Train\u201d
\nBernstein: \u201cAin\u2019t Got No Tears Left,\u201d from On the Town<\/em>
\nBernstein: \u201cThe Masque,\u201d from Symphony No. 2, The Age of Anxiety<\/em>
\nBernstein: Three Dance Episodes from On the Town<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Great Lover
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Lonely Town Pas de Deux
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Times Square 1944<\/p>\n

Feb. 18, 8:00 p.m. (London, Barbican)
\n<\/strong>Lang Lang, piano
\nLindberg: F\u00e9ria
\nBart\u00f3k: Piano Concerto No. 2
\nProkofiev: Symphony No. 5<\/p>\n

Stage Door Johnny Dept.<\/strong>
\nTuesday\u00a0night while picking up tickets for Porgy and Bess<\/em>, I found myself standing next to playwright Neil Simon. I try not to bother celebrities, and I succeeded for a few seconds, but I couldn\u2019t resist telling him that on my first night after moving to New York from Muncie over 43 years ago I saw George C. Scott and Maureen Stapleton in his Plaza Suite <\/em>on Broadway, and what a great introduction it was to my new home. He seemed genuinely pleased and thanked me for telling him. A nice man.<\/p>\n

Looking Forward<\/strong>
\nMy week\u2019s scheduled concerts:<\/p>\n

2\/8 Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Gluck: Armide. <\/em>Juilliard Orchestra\/Jane Glover. Emalie Savoy (Armide), Alexander Hajek (Hidraot), David Portillo (Renaud), Alexander Lewis (Art\u00e9midore), Luthando Qave (Ubalde), Noah Baetge (Le Chevalier Danois), Wallis Giunta (Ph\u00e9nice), Devon Guthrie (Sidonie), Evan Hughes (Aronte), Ren\u00e9e Tatum (La Haine), Soo Yeon Kim (La Na\u00efade), Pureum Jo (2nd<\/sup> Coryph\u00e9e), Deanna Breiwick (Une Berg\u00e8re), Lilla Heinrich-Sz\u00e1sz (Lucinde), and Raquel Gonz\u00e1lez (M\u00e9lisse).<\/p>\n

2\/14 Carnegie Hall. Philadelphia Orchestra\/Charles Dutoit; James Ehnes\/violin. Martin: Concerto for Seven Wind Instruments. Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto. Bart\u00f3k: Concerto for Orchestra.<\/p>\n