Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Classical music roundup: NY PHIL’s “Messiah” at the new David Geffen Hall and the mighty PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA at Carnegie Hall

• By drediman
• December 16, 2022
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This past week, I had the opportunity to touch base with two of the East Coast’s powerhouse orchestras, the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra at, respectively, the radically reconceived David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, respectively. Here are my thoughts on these concerts.

NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC
David Geffen Hall

In keeping with tradition, the New York Philharmonic has programmed Handel’s Messiah (RECOMMENDED) for the holiday season. First and foremost, the acoustics of the new hall are remarkably improved — more immediate, richer, warmer — which is particularly noticeable when assessing a mid-sized ensemble, like the one required for Handel’s ubiquitous three-part oratorio. Led with dexterity and forward momentum by Baroque specialist Masaaki Suzuki, the performance (which I attended last night) was spirited on all accounts — especially the elegant, responsive playing by the orchestra’s string section — and there was a true sense of communion between the performers and the audience (which was made more palpable by the decision to keep the house lights on for the duration of the concert). The principal vocalists did well to pull the audience into the internal drama of the piece, thereby drawing out its immense humanity. Particularly effective were countertenor Reginald Mobley (so profound in his rendition of “He was despised and rejected of men”) and soprano Sherezade Panthaki (in bright voice). Tenor Leif Aruhn-Solén and baritone Jonathan Adams gave admirably ardent — albeit more labored — performances. Throughout, the ideally calibrated singing by the Handel and Haydn Society Chorus sounded magnificent.

PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA
Carnegie Hall

This past week also saw the Philadelphia Orchestra play Carnegie Hall (RECOMMENDED) — the mighty orchestra’s home away from home — another hall renowned for its acoustics. Indeed, it was a neat experience attending these concerts in relatively quick succession to compare the acoustics between the city’s two major concert halls. On this visit, busy but beloved maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin led the Philadelphia forces in playing a balanced program comprised of the New York premiere of Ensō by composer Xi Wang, Mozart’s buoyant Clarinet Concerto, and Mahler’s sprawling Symphony No. 4. The evening commenced with Wang’s piece, in which the composer endeavors to aurally meditate upon — through a restless, intermittently generic composition for full orchestra — Buddha’s journey to enlightenment. The program continued with Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto featuring soloist Ricardo Morales, whose virtuosic playing was the centerpiece of an otherwise standard performance. Closing out the evening was a crisp, intelligently paced, and astutely detailed reading of Mahler’s Fourth, a tone poem of a symphony featuring soprano Pretty Yende in expressive, radiant voice.