BWW Classical Music Review: PARK AVENUE CHAMBER SYMPHONY ELGAR & MENDELSSOHN at All Saints Church, New York City

PARK AVENUE CHAMBER SYMPHONY: INTROSPECTIONS: ELGAR & MENDELSSOHN at All Saints Church, New York City

The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony under the guidance of music director and conductor, David Bernard, presented yet another in a series of superb concerts this past weekend at the All Saints Church in NYC. The program included Mozart's Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major (K. 313), The Elgar Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85, and Mendelssohn's Symphony no 3 in A minor, Op. 56 "Scottish." As usual, the PACS delivered in a big way.

Conductor David Bernard marshalled the full forces of his symphony for a lengthy program of familiar and not so familiar fare. The concert began with Mozart's youthful Flute Concerto #1 in G. Flutist Petra Rivero, the 2016 Camerata Artists International Competition winner, and the the New Jersey Flute Society competition, found plenty of bright and colorful sonorities in the work to make it a delightful opening to the concert. The orchestra played expressively and vibrantly, yet with sufficient restraint to allow the soloist, (still a student at Mannes School of Music) plenty of room to breathe and frolic.

The second part of the first half of the program, was the Mendelssohn 3rd or Scotish Symphony of 1842. Mr. Bernard pushed his orchestra deeply into mid-19th century Romanticism with often revelatory results.

Mr. Bernard augmented his orchestra from the 30 or so used for the Mozart, to well over 60 and they exuded a lush, full-bodied sound. The history books tell us that Mendelssohn was noted as a conductor for his tendency to set fast tempos. This tendency was reflected in his metronome markings for this symphony, particularly in the scherzo. But Mr. Bernard's tempos were well considered, neither clipped nor tentative.

One uniquely satisfying moment in the PAC's performance of the "Scottish" was the appearance of the first movement's somewhat hidden subordinate theme, which Maestro Bernard drew forth from his strings with delicacy and grace. The thrilling parts of the symphony's faster sections were beautifully juxtaposed against the finely detailed ensembles for woodwinds, horns, and divided violas. The brilliant horn section in the Maestoso final movement brought the first half of the concert to a triumphant conclusion.

The second half of the concert was dedicated to Elgar's beloved Cello Concerto. Hard to believe as it may seem, the work managed to slip into relative obscurity for decades before its resurrection by Jaqueline DuPre in the mid-60s. Since then it has become one of the most beloved works in the repertory. To this critic, it is certainly the most profound and moving of all the great cello concerti.

Soloist Inbal Segev brought palpable fire to her performance. The Israeli-born, New York-based cellist has performed with some of the world's great orchestras under such conductors as Zubin Mehta and Lorin Maazel to name just a few. In the Elgar Concerto, she displayed far more than simply great mastery of her instrument, but also a profound depth of color and an uncommon sensitivity. Her playing in the first movement revealed an almost rapturous sense of mirthful abandonment, all the while maintaining fierce intensity and concentration. But there was far more to her performance than merely pyrotechnic technique. During the more contemplative and elegiac passages, she conveyed a deeply moving sense of a different almost mystical kind of passion. The intrinsic beauty of the Elgar's rich melody was elevated both by the sensitivity of Ms. Segev's playing, and by the glove-in-hand rapport between the cellist and Mr. Bernard's orchestra. Even the periodic pauses during the more solemn moments, particularly in the andante movement and the finale, served to bring forth and increase the sense of longing and inevitability of fate.

The audience rewarded Ms. Segev with a richly deserved standing ovation and she responded with a delightful short encore from Bach's Cello Suite #3.

Park Avenue Chamber Symphony continues to raise the bar with each of their performances. If they are not yet on your classical music radar, they should be. BroadwayWorldClassical is looking forward with great anticipation to their next season. Bravo PACS!

For more information visit: http://chambersymphony.com/web/home.aspx

Peter Danish

Editor-in-Chief

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