New York Philharmonic – Alan Gilbert, conductor. May 4, 2017.

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.  Orchestra (Seat GG108, $52).

Program

A Survivor from Warsaw, Op. 46 (1947) by Schoenberg (1874-1951).

Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 (1822-24) by Beethoven (1770-1827).

Artists

Gabriel Ebert, narrator; Camilla Tilling, soprano; Daniela Mack, mezzo-soprano; Joseph Kaiser, tenor; Eric Owens, bass-baritone

Westminster Symphony Choir, Joe Miller, director.

This was an intensive program.  Having Beethoven’s Ninth would make any concert a challenge for the musicians as well as the audience.  For tonight the program also included a 9-minute piece by Schoenberg, which added quite a bit to an already weighty program.

Due to the traffic problems on the West Side caused by President Trump’s visit, the concert was delayed by about fifteen minutes as the orchestra was short a few people.  When Gilbert came to announce the delay, he joked that the audience was here to hear the Schoenberg, which elicited a good laugh from many.

Indeed I cannot imagine ever wanting to go to a concert because Schoenberg is on the program, but I must say this piece is very powerful.  Of course any work on the holocaust would be powerful: be that a painting, a play, or a museum.  There is no perfect way to describe this work, I would characterize this as a narration accompanied by music.  I looked at the score before the concert, and realized quite a bit of coordination is needed between the narrator and the orchestra, much as a soloist needs to be in sync with the ensemble. The narrator Ebert was clear, and brought out the anguish and horror in the text.

The conclusion of the piece has the men’s chorus sing a prayer to the God of Israel.  I wondered where the men were as they were not seated on stage when the concert began.  Turns out they marched down the two center aisles as the narration was about to end, to great effect.  The lights went out at the end, and the audience showed their appreciation for the work.

When the lights came back on, the orchestra continued with Beethoven’s Ninth right away.

Most people associate Beethoven’s ninth with “Ode to Joy,” and indeed the fourth movement is one of the defining attributes of this symphony.  I sometimes wish the Program annotators would talk a little bit more about the other three movements.  As an illustration, and not as criticism, in today’s Playbill the annotator is musing about how Beethoven’s music would have evolved had he continued to write symphonies after this one.  Interesting question, but no help in my understanding of this particular work.

One can always depend on the New York Philharmonic to put out an excellent performance of this monumental work.  Tonight was no except, the orchestra was precise, spirited, and told a great story.

The Westminster Symphony Choir is Anne’s favorite, and I like it well enough.  For tonight there might be as many as 200 singers, quite a force.  I thought they could have done better, as there were quite a few precision problems throughout.  The soloists all stood out, even with a large orchestra and chorus as their counterparts.  Tilling did much better than how I remember she did the times I heard her in the past.  Owens had an iPad for his music, a little incongruent with his three counterparts.

Gilbert acknowledging various orchestra members after performance of the Symphony.  The soloists are (from left) Tilling, Mack, Kaiser, and Owens.

So, when Gilbert joked that people came for the Schoenberg, he had no idea there was more after-the-fact truth to it, at least for this listener.  It probably won’t work for practical reasons, but I would consider switching the order of performance; that would sure send the audience away in a deep funk.

The New YorkTimes review is very positive.  The reviewer characterized the Choir’s singing as sounding “youthful and robust,” and the vocal soloists a “strong quartet.”  Fair enough.

We drove up early enough to avoid the road closures on the Westside Highway – actually all the warnings about traffic gridlock probably helped.  The concert ended at around 9:15 pm, so Anne and I had dessert at Europan before going home.