New York Philharmonic – Lorin Maazel, conductor. June 20, 2009.

Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, First Tier Center (Seat BB15, $54).

Program
Monaco Fanfares, Op. 8 (1986) by Lorin Maazel (b. 1930).
Farewells: Symphonic Movement, Op. 14 (1998-99) by Maazel.
Symphony No. 2 in D major, Op. 43 (1901-02) by Sibelius (1865-1957)

This is the second to last series before Maazel retires at the end of the season. We saw the concert last week, and plan to see the concert next week (Mahler No. 8, Symphony of a Thousand) as well.

The Program Notes contains some interesting tidbits of the composing process as Maazel sees it. Fanfares was written more or less on a lark since Maazel was hearing the fanfares being played daily while he lived in Monaco. It has hints of Ravel’s Bolero, but I doubt very much it would be nearly as successful. The Farewells piece is quite long at over 25 minutes, and utilizes an army of percussion instruments (including the glass plate, bell plates, whistle, lion’s roar; the whistle is blown by a percussion player). The title would suggest it was written for this occasion, but it turns out to be farewells to the earth as we know it. It is a piece that an environmentalist would love. In his rather detailed description of the work, Maazel talks of depleted ozone layers, disappearance of species, and arms of mass destruction. The piece is indeed quite pessimistic. I could follow the music with the program notes reasonably well at first, but eventually gave up as it got grayer and grayer. There is a degree of monotony after a while: one can only take so much bad news and it then flies over your head.

Maazel says he now writes only cheerful music. Let’s hope he does well with it.

The second symphony is Sibelius’s most played symphony, and we are quite sure we have heard it several times before. We are familiar only with a couple of tunes, including the phrase which famously attempts to come out several times before it is fully stated. Sibelius music is usually melancholic, this is no exception; but it sounds much brighter after hearing the Farewells piece earlier. Inevitably people try to read politics and a script into the symphony, even though it was discouraged by Sibelius himself. I am okay with being told whether the composer had a narrative in mind.

The four movements (several played without pause) have the longest tempo markings: (i) Allegretto - Poco allegro - Tranquillo, ma poco a poco ravvivando il tempo al allegro; (ii) Temp andante, ma rubato - Andante sostenuto; (iii) Vivacissimo - Lento e suave - Largamente; and (iv) Finale. Allegro moderato.

It is interesting to observe Sibelius managed to get out a full texture of sounds with the most traditional orchestration (e.g., timpani being the only percussion instruments). If I may misquote Rimsky-Korsalkov’s comment on the performance: “Well, I suppose that’s possible, too.”

The audience gave Maazel a long ovation after the concert, which is quite well-deserved. Despite all the criticism by these New York Times reviewers, I have enjoyed the New York Philharmonic during the several years I have been going to their concerts. I have also considered myself an “average” concert goer as concert goers go, so I am glad the play is at my level. Never too simple, and with an occasional piece that’s over my head. That, evidently, is not good enough for our professional listeners.

In the car on the way back, we listened to Brahm's first symphony on WQXR which also contained one tune familiar to us amidst music that sounded vaguely familiar.

The New York Times review is uncharacteristically enthusiastic.