In Tuesday’s (11/27) New York Times, Zachary Woolfe writes, “The most moving part of the New York Youth Symphony’s concert on Sunday afternoon at Carnegie Hall came after the music had ended. The final note of Dvorak’s ‘New World’ Symphony faded, thunderous applause began, and the orchestra, made up of musicians ages 12 to 22, rose for a bow. That was the first time it was obvious that two adult artists had joined the mix. The violinists Cho-Liang Lin and Michelle Kim, who had been featured as soloists earlier in the afternoon, had sneaked in for the Dvorak. … But the youth symphony, alert and with a firm foundation in its clean, clear string sound, more than held its own. Conducted by its new music director, Joshua Gersen, it was precise in attack in the first movement and, aside from hiccups in the brasses, focused later on. … There is always interest in the orchestra’s new commissions from young composers. “Universal at Midnight,” by Gabriel Zucker, suavely combined a symphony orchestra and a jazz band, beginning with a haunting orchestral hush and passing a gentle theme through the jazz soloists. … Mr. Zucker’s influences, to just from the epigraphs for this piece, go from Charles Ives to Wilco.” The New York Youth Symphony is marking its 50th anniversary this season.
Posted November 27, 2012
