Munich review

Another review, another rave.  This time from Munich's Merkur newspaper.  Let's hear it for our young heroes !!!

June 27, 2012

Young Heroes

The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra at the Munich Philharmonie am Gasteig

Mahler’s First Symphony is not a work that one would automatically believe people who do not know much about life and the world yet are capable of or entrust to them. If one expected anything at all of a youth orchestra, it would be exhilarated joy and boundless energy – only to be greatly surprised by the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. After a few bars of Berlioz’s Roman Carnival Overture, the listener already knew that their playing is of an astonishingly high technical standard. The tricky coalescing transitions were impressively precise; the bright, rich American sound was exquisite.

In addition to tremendous talent, these 12- to 20-year-olds still have the luxury of being free from the commitments of a professional career and are able to rehearse works long and intensively with a conductor. And this conductor, Donato Cabrera, is undoubtedly part of the secret of their success. He spurs the musicians on firmly and calmly, calls for emotion with controlled gestures, and provides a secure anchorage.

Thus, in Grieg’s Piano Concerto the orchestra was not merely an accompanist that conformed closely to the soloist. Pianist Lars Vogt was obviously impressed by their ability to communicate. He gave the virtuoso warhorse distinctive angularity, removed the fat without taking away its force, and brought out the melody most clearly. In the teenagers he found amazingly understanding partners even for the mature, complex tenderness of the Adagio, which afterwards prompted him to literally bow to them.

Then Mahler’s “Titan,” negotiated with superb tonal brilliance. And this was an exploration by an ensemble that had a genuine, focused awareness of how long and difficult the path is to the appearance of the heroic closing theme. The timelessness of nature, the nostalgic irony of the village dance and funeral march – it was all there. Experienced musicians may intellectually comprehend and assimilate even more, but this interpretation had the most important thing – a willingness to expose oneself to the vastness of the mysteries of life and the universe. Well-deserved cheers in the Philharmonie.