New York Classical Review

Next week, the New York Philharmonic, conductor Gustavo Dudamel, and some guest musicians fly off to Europe for a three-week tour through France, Spain, Germany, and Austria. Orchestras heading out on the road usually hone their concert programs to precision, and often like to play the music in front of their home crowds as dress rehearsals for the tours.

That’s exactly what the Philharmonic put on the stage of David Geffen Hall Friday night, with a crowd-pleasing show. This was a short concert, with Dudamel conducting and the orchestra playing Tania León’s Imágenes Mestizas, the Adagietto from Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, and Osvaldo Golijov’s quasi-concerto grosso, Azul, with cellist Yo-Yo Ma leading a quartet of guest musicians in front of the orchestra.

The program showed off the orchestra’s skill, and some tradition, making up an extended appetizer for what the European audiences are going to be able to enjoy (as well as a chance for the Philharmonic to perform in front of New York’s new mayor, who was in the audience).

León’s piece is a Philharmonic commission that the orchestra premiered last week, at which time it sounded attractive but unfocused, both compositionally and in performance.

After more performances and rehearsals, everything about the music sounded better Friday night. Substantially greater familiarity showed in the centered string intonation and timbres, with precise balances in the woodwinds, and crisper rhythms. There was more energy and assurance all around, the kind of playing that is synchronized but feels loose, space to focus on finding meaningful things in the music.

That exposure is the challenge with any new piece, and Imágenes Mestizas sounded more purposeful on this occasion. The work still came off as a set of personal impressions, not all speaking to the listener, but it sounded attractive with greater concentration in the playing.

Mahler’s Adagietto is a popular concert piece, but it was odd hearing it separated from the complete symphony, which was heard in a superb performance last week. 

Compounding this was that Dudamel took a dramatically different approach to the music, slowing the tempo down to a ten-minute duration. Last week, there was an emotional rawness that was part of the complete  symphony performance. On Friday night everything was smooth except for a deliberate catch between phrases, like an opera singer preparing their emotions. This actually put a small but noticeable and disruptive hitch between phrases just before the return of the theme.

Golijov’s compelling Azul brought back a more visceral music making. This piece has a great cinematic sweep to it, rising from a low, still place on a simple, lovely, extended melody in the cello. It was an enormous pleasure to hear Ma play it, a chance to hear the gorgeous, vocalized timbre he can produce on long tones.

What makes this close to a concerto grosso is Ma sitting upfront with Michael Ward-Bergeman, playing his electrified “hyper-accordion,” and the two great percussionists Jamey Haddad and Cyro Baptista. This group accompanies the cello, reinforcing the reedy lines, filling in spaces with colors, while the orchestra adds greater richness underneath. 

Azul is beautifully scored and shaped by Golijov, with a widescreen quality—it seems to move from scene to scene through time, and almost from left to right across the field of hearing. The playing built to a sumptuous expressive peak, though one that was always under control. Dudamel emphasized the balances and colors, mostly laying back and letting Ma and musicians lead the way. The music doesn’t descend so much once it hits the summit, as it finds a calm place, slows and quiets, and drifts into a silence that Ma and Dudamel held in the air for a wonderful long moment. 

The roaring applause for the musicians and Golijov, who took the stage, was certainly a prelude to what the Philharmonic will be hearing throughout the month overseas.

The New York Philharmonic, with conductor Anthony Parnther, plays the score to Get Out in concert with the film, October 28-31. nyphil.org.