Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Led by Muti, the revered VIENNA PHILHARMONIC returns to Carnegie Hall with its annual weekend of concerts

• By drediman
• March 4, 2025
• No Comments

This past weekend, the highly revered Vienna Philharmonic returned to New York for its annual set of performances at Carnegie Hall, this time around conducted by the great maestro Riccardo Muti. Of the trio of distinct concerts performed, I attended Friday and Sunday’s bookend performances, which included Schubert’s rarely-performed Fourth Symphony and Bruckner’s mighty Seventh Symphony in the first concert, as well as the greatest hits pairing of Mozart’s “Jupiter” and Dvorak’s “New World” symphonies in the ensemble’s third and final outing at the legendary hall.

Although not quite the astonishing technical display that distinguished recent visits by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (also led by Muti, spectacularly) and the world class Berlin Philharmonic, the Vienna forces exhibited another type of quality altogether. Invariably, their playing was stately and elegant, exuding a knowing, almost world-weary essence that bordered on melancholy. Although this would seem to work contrary to pieces like Mozart’s warhorse “Jupiter” — which is usually put over with irrepressible buoyancy — the ensemble’s playing brought a bittersweet eloquence I hadn’t heart in the piece before (the second movement was especially revelatory in this regard). Similarly, the other piece on Sunday’s program — Dvorak’s “New World” (which, in a full circle moment, incidentally premiered at Carnegie Hall in 1893) — was imbued with a prayer-like cadence and moving honesty that one doesn’t typically associate with performances of this cinematically-scored favorite.

This laid-back luxuriousness was also in evidence during Friday’s performance, but applied with less success. Throughout the opening concert, Muti wrestled with the orchestra to instill a pronounced sense of style and precision in their performance. In Schubert’s Fourth, this resulted in playing that was intentional and purposeful, if a tad sluggishly phrased. Unfortunately, in Bruckner’s Seventh, the Vienna forces basked excessively in the score’s expansiveness — it was a meandering interpretation that lacked somewhat in overall shape and impact. Nevertheless, many of the passing moments of the performance exuded the storied ensemble’s trademark warmth, texture, and maturity.

RECOMMENDED

VIENNA PHILHARMONIC
Classical Music
Carnegie Hall
Approximately 2 hours (including an intermission)
Closed