Concert Review: Substitutions of Distinction

Michael Tilson-Thomas conducts the Philadelphia Orchestra.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Michael Tilson Thomas. Photograph by Eric Thayer © National Public Radio.

A late change in concert program may not bode well for the success of the evening. But in the case of  Friday night's Carnegie Hall concert by the Philadelphia Orchestra, it proved an advantage. Earlier this week, it was announced that due to the illness of the ensemble's music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Michael Tilson Thomas would step in to lead the orchestra in its first New York appearance of the 2013 season. Additionally, the Brahms' Second Piano Concerto would be replaced with the same composer's First. (The change in program was at the request of soloist Hélene Grimaud, who did not want to tackle the massive Second with a conductor with whom she had no opportunity to rehearse.)

The (Carnegie) Halls of Medicine

Michael Tilson Thomas to step in with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

This is in no way an endorsement of any expectorant.
Image of Michael Tilson Thomas from the conductor's official website.
Ricola cough drops and Swiss background from the official Ricola website.
Photoshop by the author.

In a late-breaking story, the Philadelphia Orchestra's Friday night Carnegie Hall concert has had a change of conductor and program. Yannick Nézet-Séguin has a sinus infection and will not conduct this week.