by Christina Klessig
Tina Fineberg for The New York Times
After the concertmaster warmed up New York Philharmonic Thursday night at Avery Fisher Hall, my mind raced as Thomas Adès took the stage. He had coattails to the floor, with the curly haircut and beard of a hipster creative type. Yet, with one flick of the wrist, he had everyone’s attention. Without hesitation, he launched into Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 in C Major, the introduction slowly emerging like a flower opening to the morning sun. The second movement showed off the Phil's regal oboes and flutes, while in the third movement, the violins played violently, with Adès mounting a chase of playful proportions.
Adès then transported us through the Overture to Berlioz’s Les Francs-juges ("The Free Judges"), filled with landmines of tubas and cymbals depicting a 13th century court room in Westphalia, Germany. Clarinets piped in their responses to questions, much as a witness would on the stand. Every clash of the cymbals or touch on the timpani marked a verdict that had been made. Adès held our curiosity throughout the imaginary tour, ensuring that our eyes and ears never wandered.
Adès then conducted the U.S. premiere of his own Totentanz (2013). Adés wrote in the program that his entire piece was inspired by an anonymous text found under a 15th century frieze in the Marienkirche, Germany. The frieze depicts every person in society, from the Pope to an infant; in between each figure is the image of Death. A dialogue between Death and the figures in the frieze is sung by mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn and baritone Mark Stone.
Unfortunately, the premiere did not go as well as we all would have hoped. The tone of the piece changed so rapidly that it was impossible to pick up a consistent line of melody. One moment, I thought I was listening to a circus, and the next I was in a macabre battle between good and evil. For a piece that lasted 40 minutes, I felt my senses had become dulled by all of the inconsistent changes – not to mention the work's overwhelming dissonance.
The orchestra seemed to struggle throughout with the technical difficulties of the piece, with not a moment of pleasure seeming to be coming from anyone. There is a fine line between genius and uncontrolled free association, and unfortunately, Totentanz fell into the latter.