New York String Orchestra – Jamie Laredo, conductor; Richard Goode, piano. December 28, 2017.

Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall.  Parquet Mid (Seat N5, $25).

Program

Elegia Andina (2000) by Frank (b. 1972).

Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 (1785) by Mozart (1756-1791).

Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 56, “Scottish” (1842) by Mendelssohn (1809-1847).

The tickets were bought at a discount on Cyber Monday.  I didn’t know anything about the NYSO, but thought I couldn’t go wrong with Laredo and Goode.

Tonight turned out to be a rather interesting experience.  Turns out NYSO is a 70 or person ensemble consisting of high school and college students, they come together for an intensive 10-day practice period and put out this concert as a result.  This current group range in age from 16 to 23, coming (mostly) from North America, Asia, and Central and South America.

There are quite a few woodwind and percussion members in the ensemble, so I wonder if they should drop the “string” in their name.  Of course calling themselves “New York Orchestra” probably won’t work.

The works performed were written in the 18^th, 19^th and 21^st (well, year 2000) centuries, so quite a range.

Gabriela Lena Frank was born to a Peruvian-Chinese mother and a Latvian-Jewish father.  Her music comes from an anthropological perspective while maintaining its own distinctive voice.  Andean Elegy, one of Frank’s first written down compositions, is dedicated to her older brother, and explores what it means to be of several ethnic persuasions – of several minds.  One characteristic is the use of two flutes to mimic the Peruvian double-row panpipes.

The paragraph above is taken directly from the description in the Playbill.  I thought while the 11-minute long piece has its interesting moments, it sounded quite repetitive, and flat (perhaps befitting an elegy.)  I did catch the effect produced by the flutes, and still wonder how that somewhat eerie sound was generated.

I have heard Richard Goode a couple of times before, and generally enjoyed his playing.  He again needed the music in front of him, although for tonight I was sure just as insurance (most of the time anyway.)  Tonight the sound he produced on a Steinway concert grand sounded very subdued, at times very much like a period fortepiano.  It came across well.

Richard Goode, Jamie Laredo, and the New York String Orchestra.

The Scottish Symphony is a 40-minute long piece inspired by Mendelssohn’s visit to Scotland.  He also wrote the Fingal’s Cave Overture as a result of the visit; this Symphony would come 12 years later.  While I was sure the players had no problems with the music, the lack of “together time” showed on several occasions by the somewhat muddled playing.  The three movements, played with no (or minimal) pause are (i) Andante con moto – Allegro un poco agitato; (ii) Vivace non troppo; (iii) Adagio; and (iv) Allegro vivacissimo – Allegro maestoso assai.

Since 12/26 we have had a cold spell (temperature not breaking freezing) that is forecasted to last through 1/7/2018.  On top of that the Newark Bay Bridge was closed for emergency repairs, making driving quite untenable.  We ended up taking the train.  After the concert we rushed back to Penn Station to catch the 10:20 pm train.  Along the way we bought a couple of McDonald’s burgers, but had to leave before getting the food because we were afraid we would miss the train.  I had a light meal before we left, Anne was quite hungry by the time we got home.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed the evening.  It was good to see so many young people take their music so seriously, and that there are people willing to help them along.