Saturday, March 1, 2025
Stern Auditorium, Carnegie Hall, New York City
Given the five-hour time difference, I fell asleep just before this live radio relay, missing Catalani’s Contemplazione (but see below) and came out of slumber to hear about one-third of the Divertimento that Stravinsky compiled from his Tchaikovsky-based score for the ballet The Fairy’s Kiss, which was dancing on a sixpence from the Viennese. It was Schubert Nine I heard complete and properly – great! – Riccardo Muti obviously in charge of an orchestra synonymous with this composer, a sturdy and resilient rendition from an ensemble here distinctively lean-sounding yet regal, with a standout rustic oboe and a powerful bass line (nothing reduced from that section), rhythmically vital throughout (with sublimity not overlooked in the con moto second movement). Muti observed the first-movement repeat, and if the loudest dynamics were compromised over the airwaves, there was no doubt that the performance ended powerfully, the Finale itself energetic and crisply unanimous. Despite an enthusiastic response no encore was forthcoming.