Stéphane Denève won critical acclaim following his New York Philharmonic performances at the Lincoln Center at the end of November. On his fourth visit to the orchestra, the programme featured Guillaume Connesson’s Céléphaïs from Les Cités de Lovecraft, Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé Suite No. 2 and Roussel’s Bacchus et Ariane Suite No. 2. Pianist Víkingur Ólafsson performed Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major.
Jay Nordlinger from The New Criterion wrote, “…a concert of pure pleasure, and pure excellence… On this particular night, the New York Philharmonic was most definitely a French orchestra… Under Denève’s baton, the Philharmonic played the ballet suites with savoir-faire, panache, nuance… The orchestra seemed to love playing for Stéphane Denève… They are lucky in St. Louis, having this fellow night after night.”
Susan Stempleski from Classical Source wrote, “Stéphane Denève meticulously balanced dynamics and sonorities to elicit a voluptuous and intense performance… a performance full of memorable moments.”
Denève led the NY Philharmonic in a performance of this scintillating music that was stunning for its textural clarity and brilliance… The orchestral playing was superb… (Denève’s) joy in making music is obvious.”
David Wolfson from Bachtrack wrote, “I have rarely heard as thoughtfully designed and coherent a program from the New York Philharmonic as Stéphane Denève’s on Wednesday night”, and described the performance as “full of wonders.”
Photo credit: SWR
