RE: our earlier discussion of the "flash mob" of the choir in the audience for the Budapest Festival Orchestra's performance of Beethoven's 9th at Lincoln Center:I found on YouTube a performance of Beethoven's 9th in which the trumpeter for the Ode to Joy is in the audience. This is the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, conducted by Mariss Jansons at 51:14 of this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYbSNJDDAfk
Good review (and great snarky commentary on ES!). I like the little Dessner music I've heard (as it happens, I was just listening to the CD he appears on with J. Greenwood before reading your post), so I probably would have enjoyed that part of the program more than you. The Emperor Concerto at speed sounds like an interesting approach. Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed the show. I think the acoustics at Carnegie Hall are the best in the world. Better than at Lincoln Center (which are very good).
I'm undecided on the Mendelssohn.
Miss Hungary and I were at Lincoln Center last night, to see the New York Philharmonic.https://nyphil.org/concerts-tickets/1718/salonen-conducts-beethoven-eroica-symphonyThe show concert was conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esa-Pekka_Salonen who is currently the Composer-In-Residence at the New York Philharmonic. (As an aside: the Philharmonic has not had an official musical director this year: Alan Gilbert https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Gilbert_(conductor) finished in 2017; they announced Jaap van Zweden as the Director-Designate; he will officially become Director next year https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaap_van_Zweden )Just before the show, I went to the box office and spent a crapload of money upgrading to spectacular seats – these never would have been available to general public; must have been seats of subscribers who canceled – 24 rows back, dead center The program featured the world premiere of a new work – a New York Philharmonic Commission), called "Metacosmos," composed by Anna Thorvaldsdottir https://nyphil.org/whats-new/2018/january/anna-thorvaldsdottir-commission-metacosmos-world-premiere-aprilAt the start, Salonen and Thorvaldsdottir came out onto the stage, and had a little conversation about the meaning behind the work. Apparently, it is something about moving on to the afterlife, going through life with all the seeming chaos and anxiety, and learning to accept life and the mixture of the chaos and the beauty etc.The piece has lots of annoying whooshing sounds and rumbles and clanging (presumably to represent chaos and anxiety), and some decent melodic parts (presumably to represent beauty and joy) which were sadly, few and far between. I was very happy when this piece of shit was over. Fortunately, it was only 12 minutes long.Here is a New York Times review of the show, which discusses the piece a bit more and also features a short video of a rehearsal of thhis piece https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/04/05/arts/music/new-york-philharmonic-esa-pekka-salonen.htmlSome more on Thorvaldsdottir and the piece https://nyphil.org/whats-new/2018/january/anna-thorvaldsdottir-commission-metacosmos-world-premiere-aprilFortunately, once it was over, the real show could begin:Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto, featuring the 25-year-old British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor in his NY Philharmonic subscription debut. Then was Beethoven's 3rd Symphony, the "Eroica." The Eroica's first movement was played faster than what I am used to hearing (a recording of Leonard Bernstein with the NY Philharmonic). Here is a review in the NY Classical Review, which is pretty harsh on Salonen's interpretation of the Eroica http://newyorkclassicalreview.com/2018/04/world-premiere-piano-debut-ignite-salonens-philharmonic-program/This was the first time I have seen either of these Beethoven pieces. And I had hardly ever listened to them previously, either – with the exception of the first movement of the Eroica.The 3rd piano concerto – though certainly not on the level of the 4th or the 5th – is alright. Opening movement is ok, second is not particularly memorable, third is pretty good.The Eroica's first movement is very famous. The second is slow and not very good. The third and fourth, perhaps ok, I have to listen to them again.All I know is, being in great seats at David Geffen Hall with the prettiest girl in the room. (Not that difficult, I admit, in a room where 90% of the women are at least 80 years old ) A great night!!!
Did you get Lucky? is all we want to know.