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The New York difference
New York Philharmonic with Joyce DiDonato (1st review)
Steve Cohen
Hector Berlioz's early song-cycle, Les nuits d'été ("Summer Nights") is a series of love songs, some of them worded in a man's voice, which can be performed by a tenor or a soprano. (I'd also love to hear them sung by a high baritone like Thomas Hampson.)
Such atmospheric music making belongs on the banks of a stream on a summer evening, or in a smaller hall. Still and all, this work was a pleasure to hear.
This youthful composition was played with restraint by the New York Philharmonic under Alan Gilbert, eschewing the gushes of opulent color that we associate with the mature Berlioz.
The soprano Joyce DiDonato sang intimately and shaped her phrases with subtlety. Her voice was softest in the mid to low register, then gained volume and soared when she went up the staff, on phrases like "La fête étoile" in the song "Le spectre de la rose."
Her passion when she sang "Reviens" ("Return"), in the song "Absence," was an emotional highlight. She looked gorgeous, too, in a sparkling off-white gown.
Jagged rhythms
Because of the nebulous character of Les nuits d'été, I would have preferred a different opening piece than Steven Stucky's Son et lumière ("Sound and light"), which is an extroverted exploration of orchestral sonorities. This short piece uses jagged rhythms and builds to an ebullient climax.
Goodness knows there's plenty of contrast between the Stucky work and the Berlioz, but I found it disorienting to move from the bombast of Son et lumière to the softness of Les nuits d'été.
The Ravel orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition proved an exciting reconnaissance of the piece, with bright assertive brass and beautiful solos by individual wind players. The New York Phil, in this hall at least, didn't display the Philadelphia Orchestra's rich plushness of string sound.
Color and gender
Viewing this orchestra is interesting, because it seems to have even more female players than the Philadelphia (and way more than European orchestras.) During slow moments in the Pictures I counted 23 women out of 32 violins, 7 out of 10 violas, a majority of the flutes and oboes and half of the clarinets and bassoons.
Because auditions are blind, and because race prejudice is no longer any issue at symphony orchestras, I was surprised to find so few brown or black faces, especially from a city as ethnically diverse as New York.♦
To read another review by Peter Burwasser, click here.
Such atmospheric music making belongs on the banks of a stream on a summer evening, or in a smaller hall. Still and all, this work was a pleasure to hear.
This youthful composition was played with restraint by the New York Philharmonic under Alan Gilbert, eschewing the gushes of opulent color that we associate with the mature Berlioz.
The soprano Joyce DiDonato sang intimately and shaped her phrases with subtlety. Her voice was softest in the mid to low register, then gained volume and soared when she went up the staff, on phrases like "La fête étoile" in the song "Le spectre de la rose."
Her passion when she sang "Reviens" ("Return"), in the song "Absence," was an emotional highlight. She looked gorgeous, too, in a sparkling off-white gown.
Jagged rhythms
Because of the nebulous character of Les nuits d'été, I would have preferred a different opening piece than Steven Stucky's Son et lumière ("Sound and light"), which is an extroverted exploration of orchestral sonorities. This short piece uses jagged rhythms and builds to an ebullient climax.
Goodness knows there's plenty of contrast between the Stucky work and the Berlioz, but I found it disorienting to move from the bombast of Son et lumière to the softness of Les nuits d'été.
The Ravel orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition proved an exciting reconnaissance of the piece, with bright assertive brass and beautiful solos by individual wind players. The New York Phil, in this hall at least, didn't display the Philadelphia Orchestra's rich plushness of string sound.
Color and gender
Viewing this orchestra is interesting, because it seems to have even more female players than the Philadelphia (and way more than European orchestras.) During slow moments in the Pictures I counted 23 women out of 32 violins, 7 out of 10 violas, a majority of the flutes and oboes and half of the clarinets and bassoons.
Because auditions are blind, and because race prejudice is no longer any issue at symphony orchestras, I was surprised to find so few brown or black faces, especially from a city as ethnically diverse as New York.♦
To read another review by Peter Burwasser, click here.
What, When, Where
New York Philharmonic. Stucky, Son et lumière, Berlioz, Les nuits d'été; Mussorgsky-Ravel, Pictures at an Exhibition. Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano; Alan Gilbert conductor. February 24, 2012 at Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Sts. (215) 893-7902 or kimmelcenter.org.
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