|
Reviews
The New York Times
Thursday, March 11, 1999
Conductor Steps In, Unrehearsed
By James R. Oestreich
 It
is often a matter of curiosity, for those of us who
generally hear the first or second outing of a run,
how well the performances might have stood up until
the end, but the press of other events seldom allows
time to find out. The New York Philharmonic series just
ended was hardly typical, with its change of conductor
for the final performance, yet that unusual aspect made
it seem all the more worthwhile to check in again.
Gisèle Ben-Dor, a young Uruguayan, is developing an
odd specialty at the Philharmonic: conducting without
rehearsal. She did so in 1993, as a late substitute
for Kurt Masur, and did so again on Tuesday evening
at Avery Fisher Hall, as a replacement for Daniele Gatti,
after Ivan Fischer had rehearsed the program and conducted
the early performances.
Her interpretations of Beethoven's "Coriolan" Overture
and Mahler's Symphony No. 4, while they differed little
in detail from Mr. Fischer's on Friday afternoon, tended
to be more dynamic, less inclined to linger over nuance
and coloration. For the most part, the orchestra followed
her forward urgings. If Ms. Ben-Dor had merely survived
in a work as complex as the Mahler ... she would have
done well; she did more, making the interpretation ...
her own.
See what the critics in the US are saying:
International Reviews:
|
|
|
|
