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A Trio of (Sometimes Cracked) Gems New York
Isaac Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall
10/13/2026 -
Anton von Webern: Sommerwind (“In the Summer Wind”); Julia Wolfe: Liberty Bell; Gustav Mahler: Symphony Number 5 in C-sharp Minor
Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Philadelphia Orchestra
Anton von Webern: Sommerwind (“In the Summer Wind”); Julia Wolfe: Liberty Bell; Gustav Mahler: Symphony Number 5 in C-sharp Minor
Yannick Nézet-Séguin (Conductor), Philadelphia Orchestra
"We probably derive all our rhythms and themes from Nature, which offers them to us, pregnant with meaning in every animal noise. My music is throughout and always, but a sound of Nature."
Gustav Mahler
”Music is natural law, as related to the sense of hearing”
Anton von Webern
Y Nézet-Séguin(©Deutsche Grammaphon)
The Philadelphia Orchestra has been helmed by a few truly revolutionary (and eccentric) conductors, including Ormandy and Stokowski. Their present leader, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, has been with them for 15 years, and their consorts, as shown last night, play their hearts out for him.
The three works varied in quality. But nobody could deny the astonishing colors in Anton von Webern’s early Im Sommerwind, or their percussive power in Julia Wolfe’s Liberty Bell.
Mahler’s Fifth Symphony–the first of this year’s Nézet-Séguin’s Mahler cycle–was questionable in performance. But hearing those Philadelphia strings in the well-known Adagietto one was astonished by their translucent power.
The Webern work was–for those who only know his lapidary later works–was a surprising revelation. Of atmosphere, of Late Romantic tonality, and a tune which could easily be whistled!
Best of all were the colors of the orchestra. At first they seemed out of Alpine Symphony. But where Strauss couldn’t help muddying up his inspiration for full orchestra, Webern obviously had a religious adoration for each solo instrument. And Mr Nézet-Séguin gave the entire work that astonishing color which it deserved. As well as the printed poem which inspired it.
(Incidentally, Paul Horsely’s program notes, while admirable, had, in my view, one error. Somewhere he says that Webern personified the proof that “less is more.” The composer would have resented this. He never wrote “less”. He would say he wrote “exactly what was needed.” Rather than “less is more”, he would say “Enough is precisely enough. No ‘more, no less’”.)
J. Wolfe(©Peter Serling)
Following this with Julia Wolfe’s drum-pounding non-stop orchestra hammering was the obvious antidote to those averse to Webern’s delicacy. Or perhaps the Sousa-style anti-patriotism.
“Liberty,” Ms Wolfe wrote, “is not quite a tidy process.”
To say the least. And we’re still experiencing the curse of its “equality” today.
The theme of Liberty Bell was the London-smelted bell which cracked and–for an unfathomable reason–became a symbol of American liberty. Thus, the only two respites of the muscular orchestra were the sounds of the bell itself.
Ms. Wolfe is an always-exciting master of the orchestra, So when it came time for that bell itself, we had quiet–-and then a newly invented sound of thunder sheet, vibraphone and other instruments sounding…..well, not quite a cracked bell.
More like a heavily amplified empty sardine can.
After the intermission came a paradox. Mahler’s Fifth Symphony is simplest emotional work (outside of his First). At the same time, one prays that the opening funeral march and the ending chorale become as personally emotionally as musical exciting.
Mr Nézet-Séguin is both emotional as exciting. That opening movement was more than funereal as despondent, desolate. Not so much funereal as a picture of Dante’s Purgatory.
Granted it was great playing First Trumpet James Vaughen ruled the roost with faultless triple-tonguing. And Mr Nézet-Séguiny added his dismal Philadelphia gloomy–-if Mahler-style magnetism.
The conductor continued with not always unlikeable extremes. During the scherzo, I pictured a Gargantuan orchestra of the most astonishing virtuosity, given a page of melodies.
The problem being that every single instrument was played by a wacko lunatic. Quite crazy, always fun.
No good conductor can destroy the chorale appearance in the finale. When it comes to consummate excitement, one can imagine perhaps only the Eroica finale.
Mr Nézet-Séguiny exaggerated, waved his arms like a Baptist backwoods preacher, but it worked.
This Fifth hardly had the subtlety or architecture that it deserved. But for sheer resplendent grandeur, Mr Nézet-Séguiny was a memorable master.
Harry Rolnick
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