Seeing the New York Philharmonic perform a Brahms Violin Concerto and Schoenberg’s Pelleas und Melisande in the same night was an amazing classical music experience. The orchestra turned into a single beast, consisting of the contiguous musicians as the body and Gilbert and first violinist Frank Peter Zimmerman forming the head.

Classical music is not generally my musical preference, but I have a tremendous appreciation for it. It is Alan Gilbert’s first season conducting the Philharmonic, and he did a great job. This enthralling effect was of course due to the talent of each individual player, but equally importantly to Gilbert’s conducting prowess. I admit, this is not my normal experience while listening to classical music.  I have not gotten this feeling from listening to classical music records; I think that it is a phenomenon solely able to be experienced by attending a concert by one of the world’s best orchestras. The Brahms violin concertos are considered to be some of the most difficult violin material available, and Zimmerman effortlessly played the whole piece magnificently.

The oboe started playing the melody in the first movement, a characteristic apparently unattractive to late nineteenth century violin virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate. de Sarasate refused to perform the concerto, complaining “Do you think me so devoid of taste that I would stand there in front of the orchestra, violin in hand, but like a listener while the oboe plays the only melody in the entire work?” However, Zimmerman played plenty of beautiful melody after the oboe led with the theme. After the first movement’s powerful ending, the whole audience let out a collective cough and then seemed to laugh at the ensuing noise they created. The second movement started similarly to the first, with the oboe playing the melody and then an excited, animated Zimmerman taking the lead. All the while, Gilbert was conducting his orchestra eloquently, almost as if they were in conversation. At the conclusion of the Brahms, audience gave the orchestra (especially Zimmerman and Gilbert) a long ovation. Once the clapping subsided, Zimmerman played Joesph Joachim’s cadenza, which was as relevant to the Brahms concerto as it was beautiful and virtuosic because Brahms wrote his concerto in close consultation with Joachim, one of the eminent violin virtuosos of the era.

After intermission, the Philharmonic followed the incredible Brahms with Schoenberg’s Pelleas und Melisande, a musical adaptation to a play by Maurice Maeterlinck. Before the orchestra started playing, Gilbert addressed the audience, explaining a bit about the piece they were about to play. In Pelleas und Melisande, every character had a distinctive short melodic musical motif. Schoenberg’s idea was that one could understand the plot by feeling the emotion present in each character’s melody and then weaving the story together in one’s mind. Assuming that the majority of the audience was unfamiliar with the Pelleas und Melisande story (a category I fell into), Gilbert had the orchestra play little sections of each character’s melody, and explained the play’s general plot. Without Gilbert’s help, one could understand the emotional turmoil in the play, but I would not have guessed about the love triangle between Melisande, her husband Golaud, and her potential love interest, Pelleas. Gilbert’s introduction was very helpful, and it was more proof of his belonging in front of the Philharmonic.

The full orchestra was present for Pelleas und Melisande, giving the piece a powerful feeling. As Schoenberg’s first movement introduced the characters and set up the plot, I heard all of the themes that Gilbert fluently exhibited in his introduction. After that, the plot started and I heard Melisande and Pelleas’ loving music and then Golaud’s angry tirade. The piccolo played a tender melody, enhanced by a whimsical xylophone and triangle. Blaring horns next signaled anger, and this cycle continued until an ominous bass drum sounded. This signified Golaud killing Pelleas, and then Pelleas’ melody continued, fragmented, dying. Melisande’s melody is heard next, forlorn and alone. There then was a long recap after this climax during which I lost the trail of the story, but a more trained ear may have been able to follow where I got lost, and it was auditorily pleasing nonetheless.

Seeing the Brahms Violin Concerto and Pelleas und Melisande in one night was a great experience. The Philharmonic seemed to be in top form, and Gilbert has started off his first season conducting for them extremely well. I am going to try to see more classical music, especially if it involves the tremendous Philharmonic.