Last Saturday I attended a concert by the New World Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Michael Tilson-Thomas that took place at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. The programme included Aaron Copland’s Piano Concerto and Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony in C-sharp minor. The soloist for the Copland piece was American pianist Jeremy Denk.
Tilson-Thomas founded this orchestra and is its artistic director. There’s no doubt about the connection and dedication that he feels towards this ensemble made of young musicians taken from all over the United States. Deemed as the “America’s Orchestral Academy”, this group of instrumentalists gave me a great impression on my first time seeing them perform live. The sound of the orchestra is pure and precise; the percussion section is quite amazing. And it’s clear they hold Tilson-Thomas in a special place in their hearts and minds, since the dialogue between all the instruments and the conductor was free of obstructions, they communicated perfectly and in total harmony. Tilson-Thomas sometimes-awkward body motions were followed with exact execution by the performers, who, is evident, know who is in command.
I was also very pleased with the acoustics of the Arsht Center. I sat in second row (one could even say first, as the actual front row didn’t circle the entire round-shaped stage). I had the big grand piano in front of me through Copland’s entire piece, and the second violins were pretty much in my face. But I could listen to all instruments, with crystalline clarity, and with perfect balance. From the snare to the trombone to the bass, I was able to enjoy all the details of the performance.
Aaron Copland’s Piano Concerto was new to me. I’ve heard plenty of works by the American master but this concerto was not one of them. I can honestly say the piece left me undecided. On one hand, it is exciting, full of energy, with a tremendous percussion section and quite dazzling piano acrobatics; on the other hand, the jazzy/ragtime elements incorporated in the music make it feel rather mundane, even vulgar. Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” came to my mind, though in that work the popular-music flavor is evident and welcomed; here, in Copland’s concerto, I wasn’t sure what the intentions were when the piece was composed. Anyway, in general, the work is entertaining (specially seeing it performed live) and Jeremy Benk’s playing was nothing short of amazing. At times I was caught surprised at abrupt time changes, dissonant chords and plenty of “wrong” notes, but that was all Copland’s invention.
After the performance, Benk stayed for one extra little dessert: by petition of Tilson-Thomas (according to Benk), he performed Charles Ives’ “Scherzo” for piano, a little quickie piece, an adaptation of a popular American theater melody (the name of which escapes me) that served as a perfect showcase for the soloist’s abilities.
Tilson-Thomas founded this orchestra and is its artistic director. There’s no doubt about the connection and dedication that he feels towards this ensemble made of young musicians taken from all over the United States. Deemed as the “America’s Orchestral Academy”, this group of instrumentalists gave me a great impression on my first time seeing them perform live. The sound of the orchestra is pure and precise; the percussion section is quite amazing. And it’s clear they hold Tilson-Thomas in a special place in their hearts and minds, since the dialogue between all the instruments and the conductor was free of obstructions, they communicated perfectly and in total harmony. Tilson-Thomas sometimes-awkward body motions were followed with exact execution by the performers, who, is evident, know who is in command.
I was also very pleased with the acoustics of the Arsht Center. I sat in second row (one could even say first, as the actual front row didn’t circle the entire round-shaped stage). I had the big grand piano in front of me through Copland’s entire piece, and the second violins were pretty much in my face. But I could listen to all instruments, with crystalline clarity, and with perfect balance. From the snare to the trombone to the bass, I was able to enjoy all the details of the performance.Aaron Copland’s Piano Concerto was new to me. I’ve heard plenty of works by the American master but this concerto was not one of them. I can honestly say the piece left me undecided. On one hand, it is exciting, full of energy, with a tremendous percussion section and quite dazzling piano acrobatics; on the other hand, the jazzy/ragtime elements incorporated in the music make it feel rather mundane, even vulgar. Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” came to my mind, though in that work the popular-music flavor is evident and welcomed; here, in Copland’s concerto, I wasn’t sure what the intentions were when the piece was composed. Anyway, in general, the work is entertaining (specially seeing it performed live) and Jeremy Benk’s playing was nothing short of amazing. At times I was caught surprised at abrupt time changes, dissonant chords and plenty of “wrong” notes, but that was all Copland’s invention.
After the performance, Benk stayed for one extra little dessert: by petition of Tilson-Thomas (according to Benk), he performed Charles Ives’ “Scherzo” for piano, a little quickie piece, an adaptation of a popular American theater melody (the name of which escapes me) that served as a perfect showcase for the soloist’s abilities.
After the intermission, the orchestra came back for the main event. The piano was (thankfully) taken under the stage, and Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony kicked off. What a change! This is a monumental piece of music, my third-favorite work by Mahler after his Sixth and his First symphonies, and the rendition was amazing. The first movement was all drama and emotion, from the fanfare that opens the work to the ending of the march. The brass section performed perfectly, though there was one occasion when I noticed something wrong, though I failed to point out exactly what it was (I saw some musicians looking at each other with grins on their faces, so I was not alone). The second movement got the same treatment, with a perfect balance between fortissimo and pianissimo. The tempos, all of them, were spot on for my taste. The stormy scherzo that marks the middle point on the symphony was fiery, chaotic, a musical pandemonium. The most famous movement of the symphony, the adagietto, was especially beautiful, and probably the orchestra’s best moment of the night. How beautiful this music is! It almost brings tears to my eyes, the way the violins and other strings cried with tenderness, in mourning. This was a glorious lament, sad, human, a musical gem. The final movement, triumphant and loud, was superb. All the gigantic orchestra this symphony requires comes into effect here. This is a magnificent conclusion that, nevertheless, leaves the listener with an ambivalent feeling: it’s not totally optimistic, hardly so, but it’s not sad. The orchestra conveyed those emotions perfectly.
The concert ended after several rounds of applause for the young musicians and their revered master. This was a fantastic concert, the best I’ve attended so far in the US, and it leaves me wanting to hear more and more performances of this outstanding group of young musicians who, under the expert direction of their director, show that classical music has a bright future in their hands.
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