Review: North Carolina Symphony in Tchaikovsky and Carlos Miguel Prieto’s Suite from Daphnis et Chloé

In Tuesday’s (2/24) EarRelevant, Christopher Hill writes, “The North Carolina Symphony’s second February program was notable for its sensitivity and thoughtful touches during the first portion and for its world-class performance during the second. The program began with [Tchaikovsky’s] The Year 1812 … It opens with liturgical chant. In a pre-concert chat, music director Carlos Miguel Prieto recalled the impression this opening made on him some years back … After the [piece], the Raleigh audience jumped to its feet … For Tchaikovsky’s beloved Violin Concerto, music director Prieto invited … Vadim Gluzman as soloist … Gluzman invested the last movement’s several slow passages with genuine soulfulness…. In his pre-concert chat, Prieto said that he has known and loved [Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé] most of his life … Ravel extracted two orchestral suites of music from the ballet, of which the second suite is the one more often played. The suite from Daphnis heard in Raleigh this weekend, however, was one of Prieto’s own devising. It includes about forty minutes of the ballet, considerably more than either of Ravel’s suites … On Saturday evening, playing Ravel, the North Carolina Symphony under Prieto sounded its unique voice … It was unarguably world-class.”