Concert Review: Once the Hammer Dropped

David Zinman conducts the New York Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

New York Philharmonic Artist in Residence Lisa Batiashvili.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2015 The New York Philharmonic.

It began with the blow of a hammer.

"It," in this case was Thursday night's New York Philharmonic concert at Avery Fisher Hall, the first of three this week. The hammer-blow marked the start of the first work on the program: Iscariot, a 13-minute tone poem by outgoing composer-in-residence Christopher Rouse, a 1989 work that was receiving its first Philharmonic performance. David Zinman was this week's guest conductor, in a program that also featured 20th century compositions by Samuel Barber and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Concert Review: Meet the Residents

Christopher Rouse and Lisa Biatashvili at the New York Philharmonic. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Lisa Batiashvili and friend.
Photo courtesy the Berlin Philharmonic.

The residency program, an announced affiliation with an artist or composer is a key component of schedule-building for large orchestras. At the New York Philharmonic, resources are deep enough to allow the orchestra to have both an artist-in residence (this year, violionist Lisa Batiashvili) and a composer-in-residence (for the past three years, Christopher Rouse). This week's program, heard on Saturday night at Avery Fisher Hall allowed listeners to experience both.

Concert Review: With a Bang, Then a Whisper

The first-ever NY PHIL BIENNIAL ends.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Alan Gilbert (inset) and the New York Philharmonic ended the first-ever
NY PHIL BIENNIAL on Saturday night.
Inset photo by Chris Lee. Owl image © 2014 The New York Philharmonic.

The first ever NY PHIL BIENNAL ended Saturday night with the last of three consecutive concerts by the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall. Saturday's concert was led by music director Alan Gilbert, who took the stage with microphone in hand to announce the end of the festival and to thank his orchestra musicians for learning all these new pieces and playing them at a high level.

Concert Review: The Unquiet Dead

Christopher Rouse's Requiem opens Spring for Music.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Alan Gilbert and Christopher Rouse (with hands raised) surrounded by the New York Philharmonic.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2013 The New York Philharmonic.

Ever since Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart went to his grave without finishing his setting of the Mass for the Dead, the composition of a Requiem has been considered the crowning achievement of a career in composition. For Christopher Rouse, the first New York performance of his Requiem (at Monday's opening night concert of this year's Spring For Music festival at Carnegie Hall) is such an achievement: a culminating feat for one of America's most important modern composers.

As a model for his setting of the Requiem text, Mr. Rouse chose the Grande Messe des Morts by his hero Hector Berlioz as his model. There are some parallels between the two works. Mr. Rouse chose Berlioz' edition of the text, eliminating sections like the Libera Me and opting for heavy orchestration with an awful lot of percussion. However, he also drew inspiration from Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, interleaving poetry in three different languages (mostly sung by a solo baritone) against the inexorable ritual of the Latin text. Here, the multi-lingual approach underlines the finality and universality of death, a grim message for this dark new century.

Concert Review: A Blizzard of Sound

The New York Philharmonic plays Rouse, Lindberg and the Tchaikovsky Fifth.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Yefim Bronfman (at piano) and Alan Gilbert (with baton) at the New York Philharmonic.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2013 The New York Philharmonic.

Despite the lashing snow and battering winds that briefly turned Lincoln Center into a winter playground on Thursday night, the New York Philharmonic's subscription concert under the baton of Alan Gilbert (the first of the new year) was solidly attended. The performance, featuring two works by modern composers and a crowd-pleasing symphony followed the current theory of pairing so-called "new" music with a sturdy war-horse that can drive the point home to even the most stubborn listener.

Concert Review: O, Supermen!

Strauss and Rouse at the New York Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

New York Philharmonic oboist Liang Wang gets a round of applause from his colleagues.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2009 The New York Philharmonic.

It is not common practice for reviewers to attend the last night of a concert weekend by the New York Philharmonic. But Tuesday night's concert, the last of four featuring two major tone poems by Richard Strauss and an Oboe Concerto by current composer-in-residence Christopher Rouse proved an historic occasion. For this was the last time that outgoing concertmaster Glenn Dicterow would play the solo parts in Don Juan and Also Sprach Zarathustra. (It was also this writer's only chance to see this concert following his return from last week's Chicago trip.)

Concert Review: Journey Into Modernity

The New York Philharmonic plays Haydn, Wagner and Rouse.
by Ellen Fishbein

Alan Gilbert. Photo from nyphil.tumblr.com

The New York Philharmonic is reaching the last stages of its current Gilbert's Playlist mini-festival. On Thursday night, the program was a collision of Joseph Haydn, current composer-in-residence Christopher Rouse and Richard Wagner. The combination, in the words of music director Alan Gilbert, sparked "artistic electricity."

Festival Preview: Gilbert's Playlist

The New York Philharmonic goes inside the mind of its Music Director.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

What is on Alan Gilbert's playlist?
Original photo by Chris Lee © 2013 The New York Philharmonic.
Photo alteration by the author.

The June schedule of the New York Philharmonic is the last major event of the 2013 spring concert season in New York. This year, for its final run of concerts, the orchestra is building its programming around a new concept: the personal listening habits of music director Alan Gilbert.

Concert Review: In the Shadow of Death

The New York Philharmonic premieres Prospero’s Rooms.
by Ellen Fishbein

Alan Gilbert leads the New York Philharmonic.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2013 The New York Philharmonic

Alan Gilbert began Wednesday night's New York Philharmonic concert with a program change.

"The New York Philharmonic and I were discussing dedicating a piece to Sir Colin Davis. Then, we heard about the senseless massacre in Boston." The evening began with Nimrod from Elgar's Enigma Variations. The short work was dedicated to both the late conductor and to the victims of the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Mr. Gilbert held a reverent moment of silence at the end, as the impact of these events was felt, not heard.