Concert Review: Philadelphia Orchestra - Yannick NezetSequin - Joyce DiDonatoNov 13, 2018, Carnegie Hall
Philadelphia Orchestra - Yannick Nezet-Sequin - Joyce DiDonato
Wagner - Bates - Chausson - Respighi
I went to this concert for a single reason: I am a fan of Chausson, and it is a rare opportunity to hear his work. My view of the concert does not differ so much from the Philadelphia Inquirer review of the same program a week before (where the pic also comes from). Poeme de l'amour et de la mer was ravishing and hugely satisfying, though I do think DiDonato's French enunciation could be improved upon.
The program was intelligently planned. The first half opened with a well played Prelude to Act I of Wagner's Lohengrin, surely not unrelated to Chausson. Then came a relatively new piece (first premiered by CSO in 2014) by new music darling Martin Bates, Anthology of Fantsastic Zoology, a pictorial painting (tone poem really) of Borges' work of the same name, which depicts a succession of fantastical and imaginary beings. There were many shifting moods, and the playing was marvelously coordinated and the sonorities interesting. However, I happen to be well acquainted with Borges' writing and don't think the score was that successful in capturing the fantastical.
The second half closed with Respighi's Fountains of Rome. Yet again, I fail to be drawn into this composer's world. The reading was very good but not enough to transport me.
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