Tuesday October 8th, 2013 - A great feeling to be back at the New York Philharmonic tonight, where a series of concerts featuring Beethoven's 9th have drawn sold out houses.
Believe it or not, I had never experienced this symphony in a live performance before; although my friend Dmitry who attended with me thought the performance was taken at too swift a pace to make a profound effect, I pretty much enjoyed it. These concerts marked Alan Gilbert's 'debut' performances of the 9th with the Philharmonic, and perhaps his approach will modify as he conducts the piece in future seasons.
Of course the orchestra played superbly and - despite a few cellphones going off randomly in the hall - it was exciting to hear the piece live, especially the grand 'Ode to Joy' with its massive choral interjections. Of the vocal soloists, Shenyang stood out for both power and expressiveness. For all that my initiation into the Beethoven 9th circle comes rather late in my musical life, I must say I don't feel a need to experience the work again. I think Tchaikovsky and Mahler speak to me far more clearly.
Above: from Gustav Klimt's Beethoven Frieze
The evening opened with Mark-Anthony Turnage's Frieze, a work jointly commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Society and BBC Radio 3. Turnage has been looming large on the New York musical scene of late, with his opera Anna Nicole providing a swan song for the New York City Opera.
Serving as a prelude and counter-poise to the Beethoven, Turnage's Frieze is a densely orchestrated work which has some appealing rhythmic and textural elements - especially in the final movement - but which sounds like a lot of other contemporary-classical works. And I think the 9th stands best on its own anyway.
I do really enjoy watching Alan Gilbert conduct, and look forward to experiencing both his work and the expert musicianship of the Philharmonic players in the weeks ahead.