New York Philharmonic – Xian Zhang, Conductor; Vadim Repin, Violin. November 10, 2007.

Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, First Tier Center (Seat CC14, $59).

Program

Fanfare and Announcement from Three Pieces for Orchestra (1998, 2000) by Huang Ruo (b. 1976).

Symphonie espangnole for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 21 (1874) by Lalo (1823-92).

Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92 (1811-12) by Beethoven (1770-1827).

The piece by Huang (I'm sure that's his last name) was 12 minutes long, with a clear demarcation between the fanfare and the announcement. The fanfare was reasonably easy to follow and, perhaps, to enjoy. The announcement, however, got to be a bit too out there for me. The composer evidently is highly regarded; he is now a doctoral student at Julliard and teaches composition at SUNY-Purchase. Let's hope he doesn't unleash hundreds like him onto the music world – one of him is plenty. I quote from the Program Notes the composer's words, “Everything has an end, and the end is a new beginning. It is true that these two pieces for orchestra are completed, but in an incomplete way. What is before, after, and beyond, is left to the listeners.” I am as puzzled today as when I first read this. The orchestration is quite interesting, though. There is this thing that made a wind-like noise when twirled (it would be the “rain stick”).

I didn't know Lalo was French, although I know the piece very well. In my defense, he was descended from a Spanish family; his ancestors were in France as early as the 16^th century, though. Most people who listen to this would call this a violin concerto, especially since it is considered a virtuoso violin piece. It's structure is not classically concerto-like as it has five moments of about equal length. The movements are: Allegro non troppo; Scherzando: Allegro molto; Intermezzo: Allegretto non troppo; Andandate; and Rondo: Allegro. Repin played the piece well, his Guarnerius violin soared above the orchestra. Curiously there is no clear cadenza in the piece that I could discern, although there were many challenging passages. My overall impression with this piece, however, is that it is not trying to go anywhere except to show off the violinist and provide many enjoyable tunes. These are not bad qualities for a piece to have; but not quite satisfying in this instance.

I got to really like Beethoven's 7^th symphony from listening to the slow movement in the Dearly Beloved soundtrack. It is a great and moving movement. The rest of the symphony is equally enjoyable. The four movements are: Poco sostenuto - Vivace; Allegretto; Presto; and Allegro con brio.

Zhang is surprisingly energetic. Most of the time she had full movements of her arms, and jumped around quite a bit. I am sure she will calm down as she matures – otherwise it would be difficult to still be conducting at age 75 (a good 40 years away, maybe?) She is quite short, even in heels, standing on the podium, she is still shorter than Repin. I wonder if that would affect how far she can go in her career. I do want to root for her, though.

See also the New York Times Review on the program.