Concert Review: The Rush of Progress

Semyon Bychkov returns to the New York Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Conductor Semyon Bychkov returned to the New York Philharmonic this week.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2018 The New York Philharmonic.

Relationships between high-powered conductors and major orchestras can be a delicate thing. Which is why it was good this week to see the acclaimed Semyon Bychkov return to the podium at David Geffen Hall on Thursday night. This was the first concert in a two-week stand with the New York Philharmonic, which is in the last weeks of its season.

Twelve Days Under the Rising Sun

An Overview of Hearing Japanese Orchestras
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Fujiyama from the Shin-kan-sen. Photo by the author.

The 2017 Hearing Japanese Orchestras project provided the opportunity for four Western critics, (myself included) to encounter the sound of five very different ensembles in very different cities. It was also a culturally immersive experience, my first visit to Japan and an opportunity to hear familiar and unfamiliar music presented at a generally high level.

Concert Review: The Happy Ending Machine

Christoph Eschenbach brings the Bamberg Symphony to Carnegie Hall.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The priestly Christoph Eschenbach.
Photo by Margot Ingoldsby Schulman for the National Symphony Orchestra.

Carnegie Hall is one of the busiest venues in New York City, booking hundreds of concerts each calendar year through its in-house organization and also hosting a myriad of other performances who rent out the historic venue to play. One such concert was on Wednesday night, when the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra returned to New York under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach.

Concert Review: Finishing What He Started

Alan Gilbert conducts Sibelius and Mendelssohn.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The Philharmonic from upstage with Alan Gilbert at the controls.
Photo by Chris Lee © 2015 The New York Philharmonic.

2015 has been a year of transition for Alan Gilbert. The music director of the New York Philharmonic announced back in February that next season would be his last at the helm of the orchestra. However, Tuesday night saw him back on the podium at David Geffen Hall, leading the orchestra in a program of Mendelssohn and Sibelius. The latter is greatest composer in the history of Finland, and 2015 marked his 150th birthday.

Concert Review: The Prodigal Prodigy

The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra at Lincoln Center.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Riccardo Chailly. Photo © 2014 Decca Classics/UMG

Sometimes the close historical connection between a composer and a major orchestra can lead to very special results. Such was the case Monday night at the soon-to-be-renamed Avery Fisher Hall, where Riccardo Chailly led the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra in an evening dominated by the music of Felix Mendelssohn. The Gewandhaus is Germany's oldest orchestra, and Mendelssohn served as its music director from 1835 until his death in 1847.

Concert Review: The Man of the Hour

Ösmo Vänskä leads the National Symphony Orchestra.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Conductor Ösmo Vänskä in action.
Photo by Kyndall Harkness for vita.mn

The 2013-2014 season has offered few opportunities for East Coast listeners to hear Finnish conductor Ösmo Vänskä work his magic with the symphonies of his countryman Jean Sibelius. On Saturday evening, one of those opportunities presented itself as Mr. Vänskä led the National Symphony Orchestra in the second of two subscription concerts at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

Concert Review: The Quickness of the Hand

András Schiff conducts the New York Philharmonic.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Up from the piano: soloist and conductor András Schiff.
Image courtesy the New York Philharmonic.

The Bach Variations, the New York Philharmonic's month-long excursion into the repertory of Johann Sebastian Bach, came to a fitting end this week with concerts featuring Hungarian pianist and conductor András Schiff. But where Mr. Schiff is known for his international appearances as a virtuoso concerto guest and solo performer, these concerts cast him in the less familiar role of conductor,  both from the keyboard and later, the podium.

Concert Review: Evolution Calling

Bach and Mendelssohn are featured at Mostly Mozart.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Stephen Hough. Photo by Stanley Fefferman.

When attending a concert at Mostly Mozart consisting of standard repertory works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn and Mozart himself, one can be hard pressed to tease out a connection between abstract classical compositions from different time periods. The challenge becomes greater over the course of a long festival, made more so when one's occupation consists of writing reviews on a classical music blog.

Happily, this week's penultimate Mostly Mozart program (seen Wednesday night) consisted of threee works that made a coherent whole. Conductor Andrew Manze chose Mendelssohn's concert arrangement of Bach's Third Orchestral Suite, the younger composer's own First Piano Concerto (played by Stephen Hough) and a Mozart favorite, the ubiquitous but forward-thinking Jupiter Symphony. The choice of Mozart's last symphony seemed particularly apt, as the Jupiter anticipates at what would become the strange world of 19th century Romanticism.

A Visit from Anton Bruckner

A composer comes to New Jersey...sort of.

by Paul Pelkonen

I don't make it much of a secret, but I usually sleep with "music in." 

The composer Anton Bruckner at his piano in 1894.
Really, he looked just like this.

As a sleep apnea patient, I use a BiPAP machine (it stands for Bi-directional Positive Air Pressure) which pushes and pulls air in and out of my nose and throat as I sleep. This keeps my airway open and makes sure I get a full night's sleep. I am thus able to stay awake at concerts and work in a normal fashion. 

Each night, I program my iPod and tuck it under my pillow. I block the noise of the "blower" with SkullCandy ear-buds, (yes, that's an endorsement) usually playing Bach or Mozart though I can sleep through Wagner, Bruckner, and even Mahler.

Concert Review: Youths Gone Wild

French pianist, conductor debut at Mostly Mozart.

Debut artist: French pianist Bertrand Chamayou.
Photo by Laura Vaconi for Naïve Classics

One of the joys of attending Mostly Mozart concerts is the opportunity to hear new talent.  Tuesday night's Mostly Mozart concert featured French pianist Bertrand Chamayou in his U.S. debut and conductor Jérémie Rhor, leading his first New York concert. 

Mr. Chamayou opened the evening with a lovely prelude recital that paired Haydn's Variations in f minor with Mendelssohn's Varitions sérieuses. The elegant Haydn spooled forth with a liquid ease. Mr. Chamayou played softly before the small audience, using legato and relaxed fingers to convey the composer's warmth and good humor. The Mendelssohn is made of sterner stuff, but Mr. Chamayou used the same approach. By placing emphasis on Mendelssohn's melodic invention he made a good case for including more music by this composer in future Mostly Mozart programs.

The concert opened with Haydn's Symphony No. 21. Nicknamed "The Philosopher" for its stately, considered opening movement, this is an atypical example of Haydn in his Esterhazy period. The work's unique sound comes from the pairing of two English horns (instead of the usual oboes) with two French horns in the orchestra, creating a dark atmosphere. The effect (and the general tone of the movement) was borrowed by Mozart for Act II of Die Zauberflöte: specifically the scene with the Two Men in Armor.

The Haydn was played with crisp efficiency. But the same cannot be said for the Mozart piano concerto (No. 12 in A Major) in  that followed. Mr. Rhor jumped the gun, leading off the first movement before Mr. Chamayou was ready to play. This did damage the overall performance, as one felt that the young pianist was working hard to play catch-up to his countryman. Mr. Chamayou played the solo parts with a fleet, elegant touch with Mozart's own cadenzas, an early example of the composer's brilliant writing for that instrument.

Mozart's Symphony No. 29 in Symphony stands at the beginning of the composer's mature period, showing the way forward to the great symphonies that came in the last years of his life. Mr. Rhor conducted the work with vigor, charging into the elegant main theme with enthusiasm, if little grace.

The challenging horn parts of the first movement that provided thrills. But the two horn players had intonation problems in the finale, making ugly noises when graceful playing was needed. Mr. Rhor again seemed eager, racing through the staccato passages of the minuet and the tricky finale.

Concert Review: Philharmonic's Elijah Turns a Prophet

Gerald Finley

The New York Philharmonic made a triumphant return to Avery Fisher Hall this week with Mendelssohn's Elijah. This powerful Old Testament oratorio from the pen of Felix Mendelssohn has been a Philharmonic specialty since 1952, when Dmitri Mitropoulos brought the work to Carnegie Hall.

Mendelssohn presents Elijah's story as a series of operatic confrontations: as the prophet battles King Ahab, Queen Jezebel, and in the scene on Mount Horeb, he confronts God and his own faith.

Throughout, the composer displays his command of harmony and invention, from the complex choral passages to the soaring arias, to the final ascent of Elijah into heaven in a whirlwind, an orchestral effect generated by the Philharmonic strings.

Gerald Finley sang the title role. The Canadian baritone renewed a creative partnership with Mr. Gilbert that started with the opera Doctor Atomic. Mr. Finley is a Canadian baritone with an impressive, resonant instrument. He is a capable actor, and his Elijah became a three-dimensional character, contrasting rock-solid faith in the first half with the spiritual crisis of the second.


The New York Choral Artists, under the leadership of Joseph Flummerfelt, sang the key choral passages of the work with power and warmth. Soprano Twyla Robinson sang most of the angelic voices in the score, with a pleasing voice that rose to celestial heights. Mezzo-soprano Alice Coote was particularly fierce in the role of Jezebel. Tenor Allan Clayton split duties between the roles of Ahab and Obadiah, singing with a high, lyric voice.

Elijah has been part of the Philharmonic's repertory for almost six decades, and enjoyed a revival in 1997 under the baton of Kurt Masur. Mr. Gilbert's performance on the podium was subtle and flexible. He colored in Mendelssohn's detailed orchestration and coordinating the oratorio's complex moments with a wrist-flick of his baton.