Requiem redux

Saturday night was a regular New York Philharmonic subscription concert: Music Director Lorin Maazel conducting Giuessepi Verdi's Requiem Mass. I just heard this last fall with the London Symphony, the opening concert of Lincoln Center's Great Performers series. Same music. Same hall. Different musicians.

Well, not totally different musicians: the bass soloist, Orlin Anastassov, was the same. This time he was joined by soprano Fiorenza Cedolins, mezzo-soprano Luciana D'Intino, and tenor Franco Farina, a replacement for the ailing Ramón Vargas. All four soloists were making their New York Philharmonic debuts. The New York Choral Artists provided the chorus. They were under the direction of Joseph Flummerfelt, who seems to run every large chorus in the New York area, at least the ones that perform with the Philharmonic.

Comparisons with last fall seem in order: Maazel (who seemed to have missed an appointment with his haircutter), was as much in control as Sir Colin Davis was--but seemed more relaxed. He took advantage of a new podium (I think maybe a couple inches higher than the old one). It has a handsome curved wood railing, which Maazel sometimes put his left hand on when he turned towards the violins. The orchestra was as good as ever--even the trumpets stuck up in a rear balcony to play a few bars.

The chorus was good, maybe not quite up to the level of the London Symphony Chorus, but more than adequate.

That leaves the soloists. Anastassov (the only one who did not use a score), was even better than last time. His voice literally echoed in the large hall. If anything Varga was even better than Anastassov. He was great in his small role, with a powerful presentation. Unfortunately the women soloists were not as good. There was nothing particularly wrong with either, but they both lacked that extra something that is the difference between a thrilling performance and a merely competent one. (Both also covered their gowns with shawls for the slightly chilly auditorium. Cedolin's was this thick fuzzy thing, which really detracted from her black, sparkly dress that bared her shoulders and arms. D'Intiro wore a midnight blue gown with a slit that bared her leg well above the knee when she sat--though she did wear dark hose. But her shawl covered the dress so much that it was hard to tell what was underneath.)

The Verdi Requiem is a great piece of music, and I certainly didn't mind hearing it twice in one season. I might give the nod to the London Symphony last fall, mostly on the basis of the chorus. But there wasn't that much of a difference overall, and I really enjoyed both.