Shanghai’s annual Music in the Summer Air (MISA) opens today. This year’s opening concert features Salonen conducting the NY Philharmonic. The program ensembles a luxurious night packed with some of 20th-century’s most color-saturated orchestral music:
- Ravel’s Ma Mére l’Oye
- Debussy’s La Mer
- Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique
NY Phil’s musicians has amazing technique (of course) — like in Ma mère l’Oye, the orchestra sounds like it’s breathing in watercolor. Both Ravel and Salonen tonight are really masters of delicate textures.
Debussy and Belioz piece requires a lot of brass — and they maintained a safe distance for the woodwind pals.
Encores are very thoughtful and interesting. Though the main program is all French, all encores are German exports. After the craziness and frenzy of Symphonie Fantastique, Salonen chose Bach’s Bist Du Bei Mir (BWV 508, arr. Klemperer) as our lullaby — like, after 50 mins of high drama of Symphonie fantastique, this tender, melodic aria gently winded us down. But then he fuel the audience with pure adrenaline with Wagner’s Lohengrin Prelude of Act III…
What a genius pairing.