the mommy avenger

When we speak of chemistry and the arts, we often think of couples who made us believe they were deeply in love such as Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, Kara Hayward and Jared Gilman, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, and Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. 

When we switch our mindsets to music, pairings such as Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez,  may come to mind but that is only because our children watched High School Musical 1, 2, and 3 incessantly, not because they demonstrated virtuosic talent. For true brilliance, look no further than the Philadelphia Orchestra’s music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Hélène Grimaud. 

The Paris conservatory admitted young Ms. Grimaud when she was 13 years old and by age 16, she had already established her place in professional piano competitions as a force to be reckoned with. She and Yannick have collaborated for well over a decade, resulting in award winning recordings and sold out concerts across the world. Ms. Grimaud has been on a multi-album exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon for over two decades. Audience expectations for this concert matched the feeling of expectancy noticed when artists like Yo-Yo Ma, Hilary Hahn, and John Williams visit. 

Interestingly, tonight’s repertoire consisted of some of the less-recognized concert works. Mozart Piano Concerto No. 20, Benzecry MUYUY, The circle of life (world premiere—Philadelphia Orchestra commission), and Price Symphony No. 4 required the artists to teach the general audience the depth of meditative meaning in these pieces; unlike more popular works where the audience comes with familiar anticipation. Yannick, Hélène, and the orchestra proved up to the task of presenting the proper atmosphere. 

Yannick and Hélène put on a masterclass in musical dialogue while the string section showed the depth of their control throughout Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20. They put on amazing reinterpretation of Mozart’s concerto worthy of a recording for the ages. I hope they will put it to vinyl. 

The audience would not let her performance end there, and after four minutes of rapturous applause she consented to play an encore. We were treated to a melancholy, dark piece, which I thought was perhaps one of Philip Glass’ but later learned it was Bagatelle #3 by Valentin Silvestrov. It was hauntingly beautiful. Ms, Grimaud was the highlight of the night. 

The Benzecry MUYUY, the Circle of Life piece employed excessive percussion and distracting rhythm, followed by calm, then a return. It was a piece about the confusion of life, then the peace of nature that returned with Covid, then the return of pollution and chaos. I doubt I will hear this performed again. I believe the best description for the piece would be a loud cacophony. 

Price’s never heard symphony No. 4 performed in her lifetime. As a woman of color to compose and receive recognition between 1930 and 1950 is an achievement of itself. This piece synthesized many of the great musical themes and styles from composers of various heritages. The sweeping soulful melodies moved through the orchestra like wind reminding us of the through the fields where these spirituals originated. Think Old man River meets Aaron Copeland and about thirty different spirituals. The piece comforts the soul like a warm fireplace on a stormy night. 

The Philadelphia Orchestra continues to be at its absolute best under Yannick’s baton. For the concert music aficionado, missing a performance of the Philadelphia Orchestra with Yannick conducting, may be akin to skipping Thanksgiving dinner or your sister’s baby shower—it’s best not to miss. As always, you can catch the Philadelphia Orchestra on Sunday afternooons at 1:00 at WRTI.org. Tune in and hear for yourself.

^{*we were invited to facilitate a feature, all opinions are our own*}