New York Philharmonic - Lorin Maazel, conductor; James Ehnes, Violin. 1/7/2006.

Avery Fischer Hall at Lincoln Center; Second Tier, Seat BB21.

Program

Overture to The Flying Dutchman (1840-41, rev. 1860) by Wagner (1813-83).
Violin Concerto (1936-39, rev. 1943/50) by Walton (1902-83).
Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70 (1884-85) by Dvorak (1841-1904).

I had never heard the Walton and Dvorak pieces before. I did read up on the program notes beforehand and knew Walton wrote the violin concerto for Jascha Heifetz and it is considered a virtuoso and intimate composition. Dvorak’s seventh symphony is not as popular as his ninth (New World) but is considered to be on par with works of Beethoven and Brahms. I didn’t know the violinist Ehnes either. He was born in Canada, about 29 years old, and has built up quite a resume playing with well known musicians and orchestras.

Wagner’s “The Flying Dutchman” is his fourth opera and the first to be well-known. It is a mythical story about a Dutchman condemned to sail the seas until he finds a faithful lover. The overture is quite long at about 11 minutes, contains the themes of the main characters, and is supposed to evoke images of waves and oceans. Overall, I thought the performance lacked dynamic range, and the horns were at times unsteady. I am not sure it painted a nautical theme either.

The Walton concerto is in three movements: Andante tranquillo, Presto capricciosa alla napolitana and Vivace). My overall impression is indeed it is a virtuoso piece without being overtly so. The concerto is well balanced between the soloist and the orchestra. The program notes said Walton’s music was greatly influenced by Elgar; unfortunately I couldn’t hear the similarities. Not knowing Elgar well didn’t help. Even though a Stradivarius (1715 “Ex Marsick”) was used, and despite the promising early beginning, the solo violin was oftentimes drowned out by the orchestra. Somehow I got the feeling for various reasons the soloist wasn’t into the piece.

The Dvorak symphony lived up to its billing: it indeed sounded “taut and rigorous”. The four movements are Allegro maestoso, Poco adagio, Vivace – Poco meno mosso, and Allegro. There was no break between the third and fourth movements. I continue to be surprised how traditional Dvorak’s music is compared to his contemporaries (e.g., Mahler, although Mahler was younger). There is no percussion except for the timpani. The themes are clear and well-defined. Only exception was in the third movement where multiple themes were presented simultaneously. Unfortunately the orchestra sounded a bit muddled during those episodes. The development of the symphony form from Beethoven to Brahms to Dvorak, and even to Rachmaninoff, seemed to be gradual. And then we have composers such as Mahler and Shostakovich who seemed to take off in completely different directions. A fascinating topic to explore.

Tonight’s concert was okay, but not great. It was quite well attended, though.

See also the New York Times review. The reviewer had a completely different impression of how well the brass played in Wagner’s Overture.