Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Maestro Esa-Pekka Salonen leads the New York Philharmonic in a caressing in-person performance at The Shed

• By drediman
• April 15, 2021
• No Comments

Last night, I attended the first of two socially distanced in-person concerts performed by the New York Philharmonic, courtesy of The Shed’s eclectic “An Audience With…” series (the second concert is scheduled for tonight). The occasion marked the first time that orchestra has played in front of a live audience in more than a year. The evening was conducted by Finnish-born Esa-Pekka Salonen – the music director the San Francisco Symphony and the principal conductor of London’s Philharmonia Orchestra – who gave a moving introductory speech, emphasizing “that nothing, absolutely nothing, can replace the act and the ritual of a live concert”. Mr. Salonen’s proactively inclusive and diverse programming for the San Francisco forces during the pandemic has been inspiring, so it seems fitting that he would lead the Philharmonic out of the Covid-19 glums.

The evening’s program was comprised of Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte, Jean Sibelius’s Rakastava (The Lover), and Richard Strauss’s Metamorphosen. Maestro Salonen’s conducting was sensitive throughout as he navigated the hushed lushness of the three works. As if a dream, the alluring Shaw piece emerged from and retreated back into the shadows – an intentionally timid foray back into live performance. It seemed a communal exercise in remembering the art of collective breathing for both the audience and performers alike. The playing grew bolder if still caressing in the Sibelius piece and fully bloomed in Strauss’s tone poem, in which the strings were especially glowing. Metamorphosen, with its themes of evolution and transformation, was an appropriate send-off to the smartly-curated evening as we start breaking from the pandemic’s grip. The subdued nature of the program was at times counteracted by The Shed’s air filtration system and less-than-ideal acoustics, but that’s neither here nor there. Thankfully, the Philharmonic was tastefully amplified to alleviate these slight aural drawbacks.

Overall, the experience last night was among the safest I’ve encountered for an in-person performance so far. The Shed is one of the most ideal spaces in the city for COVID-friendly performances, with its impossibly high ceiling and extremely easy access in and out of the venue. The number of bodies in the orchestra (just over two dozen by my count) have been truncated to just masked string players – understandably, the woodwind and brass sections were not represented for everyone’s safety. And of course, other standard protocols were in place – timed entry, electronic tickets, temperatures checks, limited capacity (150 persons, in this case), socially distanced seating (for both audience and players), and a shortened runtime sans intervals. For extra measure, each member of the audience needed to show proof of either a recent negative COVID-19 test or full vaccination.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

THE NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC
Classical Music
The Shed
1 hour, 10 minutes (without an intermission)