Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Philadelphia Orchestra and Charles Dutoit

Last Saturday I heard Charles Dutoit lead the Philadelphia Orchestra at Davies Hall. The program began with a suite of pieces by Carl Maria von Weber arranged by Paul Hindemith. The orchestra's performance was brash, & the large string section was loud. The buzzing contrabassoon in the 1st movement was humorous, & there was a delicate oboe solo. The timpanist made pointed & agile movements. The enthusiastic audience gave the performance loud applause & cheers.

Louis Lortie was soloist for Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major. His playing is nicely relaxed, & he looked happy. He has fast, fluttery hands, & every note is distinct. I enjoyed hearing the harp solo in the 1st movement & the unusually viscous English horn sound in the 2nd movement. Someone in the front row stood up & walked out while Mr. Lortie was playing, but the rest of the appreciative audience gave him a standing ovation.

Maestro Dutoit plowed through the Shostakovich 5 in a straight ahead manner. He looks at ease on the podium & does not over-conduct. Each section of the orchestra displayed moments of raggedness. The keyed up audience gave a loud standing ovation, & we got a fast & energetic encore of the Overture to Ruslan & Ludmilla.

§ Philadelphia Orchestra and Charles Dutoit
Philadelphia Orchestra
Charles Dutoit, conductor
Louis Lortie, piano

Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5

Encore:
Glinka: Ruslan & Ludmilla Overture

Sat, Jun 9, 2012 at 8:00pm
Davies Symphony Hall

2 comments:

Immanuel Gilen said...

It should be a crime to play anything after Shostakovich 5. There's nothing left to say after that finale.

Axel Feldheim said...

The whole program had an odd shape (I can't say I liked the Hindemith piece at all), but at least the orchestra played the encore faster & louder than the Shostakovich.

Why aren't you here for Nixon in China?