New York Philharmonic. Jaap van Zweden, conductor; Igor Levit, piano. May 31, 2024.

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center.  Orchestra (Seat T-1, $89).

Program

Sinfonia concertante in E-flat major for Violin, Viola, and Orchestra, K.364/320d (1776) by Mozart (1756-91).

Concerto No. 1 in C minor for Piano, Trumpet, and Strings, Op. 35 (1933) by Shostakovich (1906-75).

Concerto in A-minor for Violin, Cello, and Orchestra, Op. 102 (1887) by Brahms (1833-97).

Igor Levit and Christopher Martin.  Michelle Kim led the orchestra today.

Artists

For Mozart: Sheryl Staples, violin; Cynthia Phelps, viola.

For Shostakovich: Christopher Martin, trumpet.

For Brahms: Frank Huang, violin; Carter Brey, cello.

This was another "farewell" van Zweden concert, titled "Igor Levit and the Stars of the NY Phil. " Principals in the orchestra performed as soloists in the three pieces on the program.  The only exception was Levit played the piano in the Shostakovich concerto.

The Mozart and Brahms pieces are relatively familiar, and the orchestra and soloists certainly put in competent and pleasant performances.  The movements of the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante are Allegro maestoso, Andante, and Presto; of the Brahms are Allegro, Andante, and Vivace non troppo.

Cynthia Phelps and Sheryl Staples.

Frank Huang and Carter Brey.

I don't remember hearing the Shostakovich piece before, but it was surprisingly easy to follow.  Played without pause, the three movements are Lento, Moderato, and Allegro con brio.  The break between the first two movements during the performance was quite obvious, even though van Zweden had his arms up.  While listening to this piece, I thought back on the Gubaidulina concerto I heard, and could make the connection between the two composers.  The del segno passage in today's piece cemented that observation.

Levit put in a spirited rendition.  If one were simply to listen to the concerto, it would be natural to conclude that it's a piano concerto, with a rather prominent trumpet part in the orchestra.  Per the Program Notes, this was first perceived by the composer as a trumpet concerto, which eventually became a piano concerto, with the trumpet "relegated" (my word) to a supporting role.  Perhaps he forgot to re-title his work, so that's why the trumpet still gets its top billing?  In any case, there were several virtuosic passages for the instrument.

All things considered, this felt like a concert that didn't quite live up to expectations.  Certainly all the "stars" are great musicians, but the level of engagement seemed more like "a day at the office" level.  Last week I raved about the good acoustics in my seat, this week the solo instruments sounded more muddled.

There was a recent article (in the New York Times, if I recall correctly) about van Zweden's tenure at NY Phil, which basically says "unfulfilled promise" (apologies if the author didn't mean to say that).  This concert perhaps underlined that sentiment.  Instead of walking away being wowed by the programming and execution, the reaction I had was "it was nice."

Next week will be the final concert of this Farewell series, and Mahler's Resurrection Symphony is on the menu.  I certainly hope the performance will live up to the name.

The concert started at 11 am.  We left South Amboy at 8:30 am to get to Hoboken where Anne was dropped off, by the time we got back home it was around 3:30 pm.  My lunch was a Dunkin muffin bought at Port Authority.