Philadelphia Orchestra, Mar 31 2026

Stephanie and I heard the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall on March 31, 2026. They were conducted by Principal Guest Conductor Marin Alsop. I've heard her a few times, she's amazing and lots of fun to watch.

They opened with the New York premiere of a piece by John Adams co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall, The Rock You Stand On. We weren't wild for it. It had a promising start, with sections of the orchestra giving little outbursts - - the strings answered by the brass, the strings then the percussion, the brass then the woodwinds, with a smart use of rests in between. It was like hearing dogs bark at each other. I mean that in a good way. But then it went on to other things that were not consistently inspired. It had a great start and a great ending, it was the eight minutes in the middle that were a problem. It made me think of a priceless quote by Truman Capote: he was on David Susskind's talk show and they were talking about Jack Kerouac. Susskind asked him what he thought of Kerouac's writing and Capote said, "It isn't writing at all—it's typing."

The centerpiece of the program was the Gershwin Piano Concerto in F. I've been a fan of Gershwin back to my early teens, have loved this piece since way back then (the early 80s, to be precise) and yet had never heard a live performance of it. The pianist was Hayato Sumino and he was tremendous, especially in the quiet sections, he had a lovely delicate touch. He could also lay it out in the big moments but Alsop didn't do him any favors, the orchestra covered him.

Here he is playing the piece last summer with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam:

In contrast to the Adams this piece seemed to be brimming with wonderful ideas, new ideas or things you've heard earlier and are happy to hear again. The music had a feeling of boundless generosity, like Gershwin wanted to write music that you would enjoy hearing.

The surprise was the brilliance of the orchestration. There was a moment (3:09 in the performance above) when the pianist has finished his first solo and he repeats that amazing theme, now joined by the violas and an oboe. That combination was ravishingly beautiful.

I've now heard this orchestra five or six times and they're so great. Alsop had a supreme sense of the ebb and flow, when to linger at the apex of a phrase, when to surge forward. 

The second movement had a prominent trumpet solo, which our guy played with an unusually slow vibrato, giving it a jazzy or even bluesy flavor. It was crazy for that. The French horn soloist did something similar but even more impressive - - he played it in such an unusual way that my eyes darted around the orchestra trying to figure out who was playing. I was shocked to see it was the French horn, it sounded nothing like a French horn.

It interesting that the slow movement launches right into the final movement with no break. I'm telling you, that big broad theme that you hear numerous times, oh my Lord it DOES something to me. The final statement of it is so beautifully set up - - I'll give you a guided tour in this Dutch performance:

32:40: a longish piano solo which Humino plays with humor, style, and flying fingers

34:00: the orchestra comes in

34:23: THE GONG!

34:26: the broad theme that is my undoing, my eyes well up with tears every time

Humino played an encore, that was unexpected. He played a longish impressive set of variations on the Gershwin song "I Got Rhythm." I think it might have been a solo piano arrangement of this Gershwin original for piano and orchestra, played by Gershwin's friend Oscar Levant:

Humino's performance was a delight and the audience went nutso.

The second half was Prokofiev, selections from Romeo and Juliet (his ballet score). Similar to the Adams it had an enticing opening - - a monumental entrance from everyone but the strings, building up to a big piece of noise, then dropping out to reveal the strings playing a hushed chord. Haunting and thrilling. There was a delicious moment for celesta later and some nice solos for saxophone but the piece was too long and too dull. Forty minutes and I probably enjoyed about thirty minutes, not a winning ratio.

Stephanie has played the Prokofiev a few times (she's a stellar flutist) and says this:

"I love the music for Romeo and Juliet, but it's ballet music - by chopping up all the scenes into separate movements, Prokofiev tried to make it into something it's not.  Is it fair to compare it to other suites like Rosenkavalier (a medley) and West Side Story (another medley)? I think a nice medley could be made from this too, especially if a couple of the scenes are cut."