BWW Reviews: NY Philharmonic Premieres Spectacular New Concerto

Tuesday night saw the American premiere of Unsuk Chin's marvelous new Clarinet Concerto at Avery Fisher Hall. The work and evening was a triumph in every way. Conductor Alan Gilbert, looked positively giddy as he led the forces of the New York Philharmonic thought what proved to be a remarkable new work. This writer is still not a big fan of the maestro's penchant for taking to the microphone to introduce and explain works, but that appears to be his modus operandi and does not appear to be going away anytime soon.

The concert stood in stark contrast to the Philharmonic's opening-night gala, a glitzy, vapid tribute to the music from Italian Cinema. "La Dolce Vita," as it was titled was pop-flavored effort to combine film soundtracks, dazzling projected images and an A-list of performers (Renee Fleming, Josh Groban) that only New York and possibly Los Angeles could pull together. For all the star power, it was a mediocre evening. Tuesday's performance was the polar opposite. A first rate performance of a major new work, combined with Maestro Gilbert's first philharmonic take on the Mahler 1st Symphony.

It was a bold pairing as Maestro Gilbert's previous journeys into the Mahler canon have often produced uneven results. Not the case on Tuesday.

South Korean-born, German composer, Chin, was on hand to hear the Philharmonic and soloist Kari Kriikku render a positively stunning performance of her work. The concerto deserves a feature story unto itself (and one will be provided here shortly!) but suffice to say, it was both audience-friendly and completely impenetrable at the same time. It feature some bizarrely wonderful virtuoso playing from soloist and orchestra alike. At the conclusion of the piece it was pleasing to see Ms. Chin get a richly-deserved standing ovation from the audience.

The second half of the concert was the Mahler 1st, which Maestro Gilbert impressively conducted without the use of a score. His reading of the work was first-rate; extremely detailed and nuanced, without giving in to sentimentality at all. It lacked a bit of the passionate bombast that seems to be in vogue among Mahler conductors these days, but it was not lacking in drama. The orchestra's playing - particularly in the Stürmisch bewegt - Energisch 4th Movement was positively thrilling.

After a somewhat pandering start to the season, Maestro Gilbert and his Philharmonic roared back with a wonderfully bold program that left us wanting more. Here's hoping the rest of the season is as exciting!

Peter Danish

BWW Classical Music Editor-in-Chief

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