Muti Conducts the Philharmonic

[Ralph]

The New York Times article I posted on the Chatterbox pretty much sumamrizes my reaction to tonight's New York Philharmonic concert. Riccardo Muti got quite an ovation when he appeared and that with the full house liberally peopled with groups of high school students and their teachers and chaperones-for most a first-time NYP concert..

Petrassi's Chorus of Dead Ones premiered in Venice in 1941. Stark at points, this short piece has Stravinsky-like moments. Very good use of percussion.

What is confusing is that the program claims the work was an expression of the composer's anger at Nazi Germany's rapacious aggression but it first was performed in Fascist Italy. I need to check this out.

Liszt's "A Faust Symphony" IS a bit overlong and unbalanced but the performance was effective with Men of the New York Choral Artists coming in at then end.

Not a great piece of music but a change from more familiar symphonies.