It was a rare treat to hear this extraordinary group of professional and amateur musicians perform Handel's Concerto Grosso, Op. 6 No. 6, and Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto last night at St. Peter's Church in New York City.
The orchestra plays expertly under the demanding leadership of Mr. Elefant, founder of the organization. The truly amazing aspect of his high standards, however, is the constant tapping of real energetic musicianship from everyone in the orchestra ranging from profound introspection to riotous glee, all under control while feeling free as flight.
The players are excellent: intonation is wonderful without being too simple minded.
The soloist for the Beethoven was a last-minute sub, Pedja Muzijevic, who gave the best performance of the work I have ever heard, perhaps in part because it was not a full-size symphony orchestra weighing it down; perhaps because of the setting, which had the audience close enough to be drawn into the music. Muzijevic is a virtuoso start to finish, yet far more than that: the second movement was radiant.
And everyone showed such wonderful good spirit through the whole thing: conductor and soloist even collaborating in moving the piano! How many times have I seen that?
Bravo! And thank you.
