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[March 05, 2010]

The Dallas Morning News Scott Cantrell column: New York Philharmonic explores Hindemith

NEW YORK, Mar 05, 2010 (The Dallas Morning News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- There's been a lot of turnover lately on the podiums of major American orchestras. Jaap van Zweden and Manfred Honeck, respectively, took over the Dallas and Pittsburgh symphony orchestras in fall 2008. Alan Gilbert and Gustavo Dudamel are in their first seasons as music directors of the New York and Los Angeles philharmonics. Riccardo Muti is to take over the Chicago Symphony next fall.

Muti reportedly spurned advances from New York before yielding to Chicago. But, as a guest conductor, the Italian maestro was in front of the Philharmonic on Thursday evening, supplying tastes of what might have been, both good and bad.

Orchestras rarely explore the music of Paul Hindemith beyond the admittedly wonder-filled Symphonic Metamorphois on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber and the Mathis der Maler Symphony. So it was a treat to hear a work no less marvelous, but unjustly neglected: the 1940 Symphony in E-flat.

This is music that could only be by Hindemith: the themes alternately thrusting and insinuating; the counterpoint, by turns witty and winsome, yielding deliciously piquant harmonies.

I doubt even Hindemith would have wanted such ear-splitting fortissimos as opened and closed Muti's account. Less scorching sounds would have better clarified the polyphony. But the performance had enormous spirit and impressive rhythmic acuity, and lyrical music was graciously woven.

Opening the concert, at Avery Fisher Hall, the Brahms First Piano Concerto got the most grotesque performance I've ever heard. I've admired many of Andras Schiff's recordings, but his playing here was astonishingly crude.

A bright-toned Hamburg Steinway all but shrieked in pain under Schiff's hardest assaults. Big chordal passages had no depth of tone. One after another, lines that should have flowed were dissected into isolated notes.

Muti, for his part, seemed to be trying to turn Brahms -- a composer who demands some reserve -- into Verdi. (Muti's also conducting the latter's Attila at the Metropolitan Opera.) The concerto's opening was as deafening as loud parts of the Hindemith. Then, for the quieter response, Muti slowed to a crawl. A couple of horn solos were lumpy and not quite precisely tuned.

But there was about half a standing ovation, and even the orchestra members enthusiastically applauded Schiff. Go figure.

Repeats at 8 tonight and 7:30 p.m. Monday. 212-875-5656, www.nyphilharmonic.com.

To see more of The Dallas Morning News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dallasnews.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Dallas Morning News Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.

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