New York Repertory Orchestra (5/18/13)

I seem to have forgotten about this fun group, and caught their final concert of the season. It is an all-volunteer orchestra, composed of professional and amateur players, conducted by David Leibowitz. The performance took place at Church of St. Mary the Virgin (affectionately known as “Smoky Mary’s”). The program consisted of Illuminations of the Night (World Premiere) by Peri Mauer; Three Nocturnes: Nuages (“Clouds”), Fêtes (“Festivals”), Sirénes (“Sirens”) by Claude Debussy [sorry, couldn't get ssy to be bold] (1862–1918); and Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47: Allegro moderato, Adagio di molto, Allegro, ma non tanto by Jean Sibelius (1865–1957), with Airi Yoshioka as violin soloist.

The first piece opened with chaotic sounds that had some organization but then rambled on a bit. It was okay as a brief curtain raiser though I’m not sure I would seek it out for a second hearing. I suppose there was a thin connection between the Night of the first piece and the Nocturnes that followed.

Nuages had a slightly amorphous, lush sound, yet here it works—it feels as though it’s taking us somewhere. And it had some very nice playing from the wind section. Fêtes had a fuller, bright sound, with a quiet ending. Sirénes seemed to tie all three movements together—lush, full, ethereal, with a wash of choral sound being used as an additional instrument. The NYRO Women’s Chorus did a fine job.

The violin concerto’s shimmering opening included very pretty solo violin writing. My notes also have “very rich orchestrally, for the soloist as well.” The second movement was calm, without being too plaintive. And the third began with virtuosic solo violin writing that was nicely done, followed by a full orchestra response. Toward the end there were a few balance problems, with the orchestra threatening to overwhelm the soloist. I think, however, that the church-as-concert-hall contributed to that, and I’m not sure it could have been totally avoided. Ms. Yoshioka played very well throughout, as did the orchestra throughout the entire evening.

Of note to me is the fact that this was my first live hearing of the Nocturnes (and I really enjoyed them), and, I think, my first live hearing of Sibelius, at least on this grand a scale. Also of note, there was a gentleman near me following along with orchestra score reductions of both the Debussy and the Sibelius. Oddly, a person behind me was reading a book throughout the entire concert—now, I love to read, but I know that I could never concentrate on both book and music for that long a period of time. And, thankfully, even though the handheld devices weren’t making any noise, they are still intrusive. I guess some people feel the need to be plugged in at all times. For me, I need to sit back and listen to (and enjoy) the music. And I did.

ConcertMeister

p.s. Maybe I should be careful about “casting the first stone,” but I try to be discreet in my note taking.