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| National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America, Carnegie Hall, New York |
By Douglas Neslund
“Ensemble” is a term used to describe a group
of people performing together, but its more intimate meaning was made manifest
courtesy of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute in the form of the 120-member
National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America in their debut
performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Ensemble, in French, means “together”
and in the more original Latin, “all at the same time.” NYO brought new meaning
to the term as they concluded an eight-concert, transcontinental tour. This
ensemble could contrast favorably with more than a few professional orchestras.
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| David Robertson rehearsing with soloist Gil Shaham |
Their conductor is (or was)
David Robertson of Santa Monica, now in his ninth season as music director of
the St. Louis Symphony and who recently added the Sydney Symphony Orchestra to
his responsibilities. NYO and Maestro Robertson were a perfect paring. His
enthusiasm for both the music and the kids required that he wear white running shoes
(as did they) to sprint across the stage to the podium and once to take leave
of his post to saunter away in dance. But lest that sound trite or “Hollywood”
let it quickly be a metaphor for a man living in ecstasy, one shared
with the large, grateful Disney Hall audience.
Maestro Robertson also
created a repertoire that was a perfect rainbow from start to finish, designed
probably to showcase the prodigious talents of his 16-19 year old high school
players, but forming an arc beginning with Leonard Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances
from West Side Story and ending with the first encore of George Gershwin’s
Porgy and Bess.
In the middle was one of
the greater lesser-known gems of Benjamin Britten’s oeuvre, his Violin
Concerto, Op. 15, with world-class soloist Gil Shaham taking partnering with
orchestra to an even higher level, an absolute joy to experience. His music
making through the extended cadenza was breath-stopping.
Phrase-shaped deliciously delicate dynamics paired with precise attacks and releases were the rule throughout the evening.
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| Samuel Adams (b. 1985) |
After intermission, a new
work of only four minutes’ duration, commissioned for this AYO tour and
dedicated to them by the composer, Samuel Carl Adams, who was in attendance and
is the son of John Adams. Entitled “Radial Play,” the work’s foundation is
texture, sound choirs competing with other sound choirs, instrumental intervals
expanding and contracting within a scope of dynamics that explored the entire
sonic range. This piece should form the kernel for a future major work. The 30-year old Oakland resident is obviously a composer to be noticed
and followed.
The final piece in the
two-hour-plus concert was Maurice Ravel’s orchestration of Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. The degree of
achievement of this ensemble was revealed in exquisite detail and precision, as
small orchestral elements are given their opportunities throughout, often in
great exposure. Woodwinds only slightly bettered the brass choir in finesse
with some fantastic solo playing. One can name just one, as soloists were not
credited in the programme, but since Chad Lilley of Maryland was the only alto
saxophonist, it was he who "sang" the bewitching Mussorgsky solo with gorgeous
tone that easily filled Disney Hall.
One would have to guess the
name of players performing exquisite trumpet and flute solos– flawlessly and
utterly musically.
There are places in the
several scores that would challenge the world’s most professional players, but
no worries with the NYO/USA.
The impression deepens
when one realizes this group gathered for just two weeks to prepare the tour!
Los Angeles may have benefitted from being the final concert on the tour. As
such, the concert was also the “grand finale” for seniors, as graduates are not
permitted to continue the following summer. Half the orchestra stood when asked
if this was their denouement. Most of the seniors played in the AYO’s inaugural
season featuring a tour to Russia. Sixteen of the 2014 orchestra are
Californians. Seventeen professional orchestra principals formed the faculty
training these young people, including two from the Los Angeles Philharmonic
Orchestra: Thomas Hooten, principal trumpet, and Whitney Crockett, principal
bassoon. Extensive auditions are predicate to finding the very best talent.
Competition to wear the red peg-leg jeans, white sneakers and blue jackets must
be excruciatingly tough.
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| San Gabriel's own Nathan Kirchhoff and his bassoon |
Next year’s ensemble will
tour China under the baton of Charles Dutoit. One could wish for another Los
Angeles appearance next summer as a jump-off performance. Word of mouth would
certainly help to pack Disney Hall.
o-o-o-o-o-o
Photos courtesy of AYO and internet sources