New York Classical Review

A year removed from the wonderful World Orchestra Festival of youth orchestras from around the globe, it can’t help but feel like a pullback to just have the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America on the Carnegie Hall stage for one night only. But the only disappointment about Sunday night’s concert, after which the orchestra heads to Asia for a tour, was that it was their only concert

Each year, a different group of teenage musicians joins the NYO-USA, and each year a different conductor, so the ensemble’s character is always new. This season, the orchestra is led by Gianandrea Noseda, and has traded some of its usual tight intonation and rhythmic precision for a big, warm sound and some explosively passionate playing. 

It’s not a bad exchange, especially with a program that made the most of it: Carlos Simon’s recent Festive Fanfare and Overture (co-commissioned by Carnegie), Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, with Ray Chen as soloist, and after intermission the Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 2.

The orchestra nailed the downbeat and launched into Simon’s boisterous, celebratory piece. Brief, and played with great energy, this also had the single shaky moment of the concert. There is a passage with some tricky syncopations, and the passage felt muddy with the percussion section unexpectedly insecure. Once out of this, though, the spirit recovered and the orchestra roared to a finish.

In the fanfare, every rising and falling phrase brought out an enormous swell of feeling from the musicians, even more so in the Mendelssohn concerto. With this exuberance, and such a large orchestra, most soloists would have been swamped. 

But not Chen. The violinist is an exciting player, with a sweet tone and volatile manner that sounded perfect for a piece in which familiarity can hide its virtues.

Those include a palpable, yearning urgency, and with Noseda keeping a solid pace, Chen pressed his own tempo forward. This made for a nice tension to which the orchestra responded with an equal fervor. The sheer force of this often distracted from other sensations, but never fully obscured fine details, like the beautiful sound from the cello section in the countermelody of the Andante.

Along with the strength of his technique, Chen had a variety of expression. Saving his tonal brightness for the famous finale, he dug into passages of the first and second movements with an often gritty feeling, playing with both tenderness and aggression. He rewarded the huge, long ovation from the crowd with the “Obsession” Prelude from Ysaÿe’s Sonata No. 2 in A minor, Op. 27.

The qualities of this year’s orchestra and conductor came together beautifully in the Rachmaninoff symphony. The strings had the rich spread of sound one hears with professional groups, and the woodwinds played with a beguiling clarity and sense of care. The brass had a fine blend, and again the cello section glowed gorgeously whenever their part was prominent.

Most impressive of all was the tremendous passion in the playing. As the developing melodic line rises to its arch shape in the opening movement, the violins played with such enormous feeling that one thought they had reached their limit. Not close. The climactic passage later in the movement pushed even further.

After the rhythmic issues in the Simon fanfare, the Scherzo was confident and built substantial momentum. Contrasts between the fast and slow music were lovely under Noseda’s direction. The Adagio featured a sophisticated clarinet solo and an impressive sense of heartfelt playing with enough wisdom to avoid pathos, even in the soaring peaks in the strings. The finale had good pace without feeling speedy, and had, somehow, even more energy than the previous playing. This was exactly how one wants to hear this symphony, in a notable and refreshing performance.

This earned another massive ovation, which demanded another encore, a limpid and graceful Intermezzo from Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. Something to lower the temperature but keep things aloft,  and with the crowd clamoring for even more, Noseda returned to lead the “Trepak” dance from The Nutcracker.