Tonight I just have to put in a good word for the New York Philharmonic.
Recently, a writer who heard them in San Francisco was not particularly
impressed with the orchestra, the conductor Masur, or the programming
(which is, admittedly, pretty straight, but then many touring programs
are). He also, if I recall, compared the NYP unfavorably with the San
Francisco Symphony--at least in their one performance out there.
Certainly, the NYP might have had a bad night in San Francisco--that's
not an easy hall to play in for one thing--but I can tell you they
were charged to the nines here in Boston, which has a great hall. They
played magnificently tonight, in a program of the Fifths of Beethoven
and Shostakovich. I'd trade the Boston Symphony for them lock stock and
librarian in a split second. Hey, I'd take the second violins of New York
(they were something!) for the firsts here. Put simply, if the BSO played
like this and Ozawa conducted like this even some of the time, I wouldn't
have dropped my subscription, which I just did. I must add that the San
Francisco Symphony I heard a few months ago under Pasek and sounded quite
good, still did not compare with what I heard tonight.
I don't have the time or stamina to write the kind of comprehensive
review that some list members do so well, but I can tell you that the
orchestra, which I haven't heard live in a long time, has a beautifully
dark and cohesive string section. It's not as heavy or rich as a Vienna
Philharmonic or Masur's old Gewandhaus, but it's closer to them than I ever
remember it being. What it lacks in weight (which isn't much), it makes up
in virtuosity and liquidity. The woodwinds have always been great in New
York. Drucker must be near 70 and he still sounds great. LeClair may be
the best bassoonist in the country, or she's close to it. Church is a
wonderful flutist (all three who played first--which includes the absent
Baxstressor would have more than sufficed in Boston: what took Ozawa seven
years to find a principal?), and Robinson is no slouch on oboe. The brass
is powerful, particularly Phil Myers--what a horn player!--and Joe Alessi
on trombone. And Phil Smith is a fine trumpeter (but for some moments in
the Beethoven).
As for the performances, again briefly, the Beethoven was quite urgent
throughout, with excellent concentration. Surprisingly for Masur. It
was an interesting combination, the weighty string sound with tempos
and attacks that tended to lean forward. It made for a very exciting
performance. The orchestra was cohesive, they listened to each other, and
there were great balances. My only quibble was some coarse playing by the
horns (not Myers) and trumpets. I wonder if Masur wanted this bit of a
burr, because it was consistent.
The Shostakovich had some eccentric tempos, but it was a knockout.
Doctorow's violin solos in II were quirky, but quite fascinating. The
Largo was moving and glowing. There were some odd slow tempos in the
finale, but the power and energy of the performance carried the day. I
never heard the coda taken so slowly. Not when I was playing, in concerts,
or on recordings. And the brass never wavered. The first encore was the
finale for Tchaikovsky's Serenade for Strings, and it predictably received
a performance that was both energetic, full, and burnished with wonderful
string balance. The second encore was something else again. A Dixieland
brass quintet which these wonderful players used to bring the roof down.
Wow! And the audience loved it all. (Masur is very popular here.)
The New York Philharmonic takes its hits now and then. Once when I
auditioned for it many many years ago, a bass player told me the players
become used to it, but always, he said, other orchestras point to New York
for their great concerts, which is where we have to play every day. This
is an enormously talented orchestra. They don't always sound that way,
I'll admit, but tonight they absolutely did.
Roger Hecht
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