David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. Third Tier (Seat AA133, $130).
Tilson Thomas and Ax after the Mozart Piano Concerto.
Program
Piano Concerto No. 14 in E-flat major, K. 449 by Mozart (1782-84).
Symphony No. 5 (1901-02) by Mahler (1860-1911).
This was a great concert on many levels. Most importantly, the music was beautifully done.
The Mozart concerto was a delightful conversation between two long-time friends, or old friends even (Ax is 75, MTT 79). Reminiscing about their youth, thinking about the future, enjoying the present moment. It helped that the concerto had a light and ephemeral quality to it.
I have said many times that Mahler's Fifth was the first symphony of his that I was familiar with. The last time I heard it live was in 2020, although it is one of my "go to" pieces when I listen to my iPod and don't have any specific composition in mind. Over the years my appreciation of the piece has grown, and today's performance delivered on most, if not all, my expectations. There were no breaks between and first & second, and fourth & fifth movements; essentially making this a 3-Part symphony.
In some ways this also felt like a strong and defiant statement by MTT. When we attended his March, 2023 concert, we thought that would be the last time we would see him. Cheating death, at least for now, his quiet resilience speaks volumes about his determination, and is an inspiration.
All the orchestra members were clearly visible from my seat in the Third Tier, and I had a new appreciation for what they had to do. There was this passage where the timpanist had to go on for a long time hitting two drums, and there were many instances a "tune" was hammered out. The harpist sat there for over an hour so she could participate in the 10-minute Adagietto. I wish she would play at a higher volume. And there were seven horns, the "guest" principal probably was auditioning for the job - hire him, I say. I counted 16 first violins, 14 second violins, and 95 musicians altogether; a huge ensemble by any definition. Thinking back on my college days, I am embarrassed at my lack of sense of proportion; just making sure I got my part right consumed all my energy.
This is the first time I sat in Tier 3 since the auditorium was renovated. The sound came across quite well, although there is a "distant" quality to it. To be expected, I guess. I do note I described the Elbphilharmonie's acoustics as "intimate and immediate," definitely not adjectives I would use here.
The audience showed their appreciation at the end of the concert.
Quite a few empty seats, even though the concert was supposedly sold out a couple of weeks ago when I first looked. When I booked the tickets the day prior, there were only about 15 empty seats. Somewhere I read about 10% of subscriptions don't show up for any given concert. They could have made the tickets available to others by donating them to NY Phil.
There was a circuitous path to the ticket to this concert (Anne didn't go). When I subscribed to this season's programs, I included the Friday afternoon concert. Then a scheduled medical procedure made it necessary to cancel that concert, and today's concert was sold out when I looked to switch. So we exchanged those tickets for another concert altogether. My procedure was postponed, and on Friday Anne and I decided to try the ferry from South Amboy to New York. Checking the NY Phil website, tickets were available, but it was too hurried for us, so we skipped it. On Saturday the website said a few tickets were still available, so I got one, and enjoyed a 10% discount for subscribers. My original seat, in the orchestra section, cost only $95 - so there is a huge price advantage to buy tickets as part of a subscription. (None of this has anything to do with the music, but this is my blog.)
One other factor that I decided to go for the concert was a positive review I read. I usually don't read reviews of concerts I plan to attend before hand, but this was when I thought I wasn't going. After the concert, I also read the review in Financial Times. The reviewer's one beef (I think) was the program was too "standard."
The concert ended at around 4:10 pm, so I took the 5:07 pm train home. I am glad I went.
