The EUROPE / SPRING 2015 tour has come to an end, and the Orchestra has been greeted by friends, family, and some real spring weather (finally!).
It was a terrific tour in every way, and we thank everyone who welcomed us, hosted us, performed with us, and attended our concerts. We especially thank Exclusive Tour Sponsor Credit Suisse, whose support made it all possible. To see slideshows and videos, go here. Here's what the press had to say.
National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland
- "Under Music Director Alan Gilbert, the return of the New York Philharmonic fulfills all expectations. ... Nyx shows the weighty depth of NYP’s brass with particularly emblazoned horns, its shimmering vital-in-attach strings and its twirling woodwind with principal clarinet sinuously serpentine. Then there is snapping percussion and a delightful harp and celesta duo in this brilliant orchestral showpiece executed with consummate ensemble virtuosity." (Irish Independent)
London's Barbican Centre
- "The playing of the New York Philharmonic combines something of that old-world sophistication with the big-boned, technical brilliance one associates with the best American orchestras. … This was a good advertisement for its current standing." (Financial Times)
- "…[Joyce] DiDonato’s singing (always a highlight) was all light and depth. … Special mention goes to Acting Concertmaster Sheryl Staples, whose organic solo playing nicely complemented Richard Strauss’s exquisite 'Morgen!'." (The Spectator)
- "the intimacy of the hall and the ensemble belied the surging intensity of the performances; here were players totally committed to the delivery of very exciting music. … CONTACT! … demonstrated contemporary music in America is in very capable hands." (Bachtrack.com)
- "It was Stravinsky's Petrushka that stole the show, and indeed, for better or worse, the weekend." (The Sunday Times)
Amsterdam's Concertgebouw
- "Alan Gilbert … has proved to be an experienced architect of sound, a conductor that leads the orchestra with a dance-like physique in sonorous performances and an athletic sound. In Ravel's Shéhérazade (and the encore: Strauss’s Morgen), the fabulous mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato's spectrum of restrained colors also made one appreciate in what a superior way Gilbert made his musicians alternate between a powerful fortissimo and a succinct whisper." (NRC Handelsblad)
- Gilbert "imparted his magisterial, incisive vision on Petrushka by Stravinsky to the musicians and audience. The orchestra took their playing to the limit, almost scarily perfect. Clear timbres were driven to the extreme in all aspects, to hallucinatory effect." (De Telegraaf)
Frankfurt's Alte Oper
- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung wrote that the performance of Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier Suite, particularly the horn section, made the concert "worthwhile already," and Ravel's Shéhérazade was played with "an enchantingly concentrated atomosphere."
Kölner Philharmonie, Cologne
- "Gilbert encouraged unbelievably sensitive playing from the Orchestra. It appeared that Eötvös's score should not be played any differently. The audience celebrated the premiere with much applause." (General-Anzeiger)
