Two years after the Berliner Philharmoniker’s last visit to Carnegie Hall, the orchestra was back with Kirill Petrenko, opening with a rivetingaccount of The Isle of the Dead, Rachmaninoff’s tone poem inspired by a black and white reproduction of Arnold Böcklin’s painting. The Berliners delivered a convincing and haunting performance, highly atmospheric and imbued with a strong sense of inevitability.
Replacing Hilary Hahn, Vilde Frang was the outstanding soloist in Korngold’s film-score-related Violin Concerto, delivering a fine performance, spacious and freely expressive in inflecting the lush melodies. Her playing – and that of the orchestra – was especially tender in the central slow movement, and she displayed breathtaking virtuosity in the dashing Finale. As an encore was the ‘Giga (senza basso)’ from Antonio Maria Montanari’s Violin Sonata in D minor.
Following intermission Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony, with details affectionately handled and rhythms exhilaratingly sprung, Petrenko expertly pacing the sweeping first movement to a wonderfully dramatic climax. The slow movement proved a showcase for the Berlin woodwinds, delivering their solos with style and grace, and for the strings with their marvelous sheen. In the Scherzo, a Bohemian folk dance, Petrenko maintained a vivacious pulse while the antiphonal seating of violins produced some playful back-and-forth effects, and the Finale was totally thrilling, gradually increasing in intensity as it moved from its dark and powerful opening to a radiant burst of light.
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