Yannick's Second Interview

[Ricordanza]

Perhaps the parallel to the HR world (more or less my day job) is not exact, but there’s no question that as the Philadelphia Orchestra continues the search for its next music director, careful attention was paid to Thursday night’s guest conductor, Yannick Nezet-Seguin. In his debut with the orchestra last season, Nezet-Seguin (or let’s just call him YNS for short) led well-received performances of two long-time favorites by Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky (the Piano Concerto No. 2 and Symphony No. 6, respectively). Two more favorites from the Philadelphia catalogue were on Thursday night’s program as well, but to his credit, this time he led off with a work and a composer never before heard in Philadelphia Orchestra concerts.

Claude Vivier was a Canadian-born composer, whose life was cut short by murder at age 34 in 1983. He completed 49 works, and Thursday night’s offering, Orion, is a relatively brief (13 minutes) but complex work for full orchestra, with an especially large percussion array. The style of the piece is hard to describe. Like the constellation it depicts, much of the music is other-worldly, but distinct themes, shifting rhythms and the canon-like conclusion give the work continual interest. It made me curious for other works by this composer.

Then, it was on to one of the standards of the repertoire, and one of my favorites, Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1 in D Minor. Pianist Nicholas Angelich, making his first appearance with the orchestra, strode onto the stage with YNS, and my immediate impression—forgive me--was Bert and Ernie, with Angelich, although slightly stooped, standing at least a foot taller than the diminutive YNS. Angelich appears older than his 39 years and, I’m sad to say, plays older as well. Not that he lacks the technical equipment of youth. Angelich displays all the tools to conquer the most demanding passages of this concerto and, at times, conveyed the power and poetry of this great work. But in two lengthy solo passages in the first movement (these are not really cadenzas in the traditional sense), Angelich slowed down the tempo and failed to maintain even a semblance of a steady rhythm. In the second movement, which is a slow movement to begin with, the pace was positively glacial. The lively third movement was much more satisfying, but by that time, I was soured on this performance.

Cesar Franck’s Symphony in D Minor is another long-time Philadelphia Orchestra favorite (recorded five times by the orchestra), but seems to have fallen out of favor in recent years. Why? Is it the unabashed romanticism of the work, which strikes modern ears as over the top? Well, to these ears, it’s still an enjoyable work given the right performance, and YNS led a performance that was right in so many ways.

So, I’ll forgive the aberration of the piano concerto, attributing that to the soloist, and give Yannick Nezet-Seguin a double check on his resume for both of his appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra. I’d welcome his return in a more permanent capacity.

[Ricordanza]

As a postscript, I offer an excerpt from a friend's email sent in response to my review. True, there are differences between performances, but such a radical change is quite remarkable!

I went to the Saturday performance. At intermission I met someone who had been at Thursday's and had clocked the Brahms at an incredible 58 minutes. Well, get this: Saturday's performance of it featured virtually no slow-downs or other uncalled-for eccentricities and came in at 46 minutes, which is a actually a couple of minutes faster than average. Obviously, somebody talked to somebody after the Thursday concert.

[MarkC]

Are they sure the 2 clocks were both accurate?

[MarkC]

But seriously folks.....
Great to see you on here, Ric, and thanks for bringing me on.

For others who are looking and might wonder what's the story: I made contact with Ric on Facebook by mistake -- I mistook him for an old friend of mine because they have very similar names, and what a fortuitous mistake it was: By complete coincidence, he and I share this love of classical music -- and he got me on here.

Ric, that's a terrifically well-done review. Very perceptive and knowledgeable, and extremely well written -- totally professional. You really bring the event to life for us.
I noticed on your profile that you posted on the "RBI Machine" thread, so I guess there's another thing we're both into. BTW you probably didn't realize that the baseball pic on my FB page was the same guy who played the Scriabin 9th.

Gotta go take a look at that baseball thread too.....

[Scott Morrison]

Living, as I do, not that far from Montréal, I've heard Nézet-Séguin several times and have his recording of a La Mer and Britten's Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, and I agree with you that he is the real deal.