Nico Muhly with Renaud Capuçon, Marin Alsop and the New York Philharmonic, 3/10/25. Peter Matthews

According to his publisher's website, Nico Muhly has written more than 300 works over the past 23 years, including operas, ballets, choral music, chamber music, and film scores - not to mention his work as an arranger for everyone from Sufjan Stevens, to Björk, to Sigur Rós. Of late, he's been on a bit of a concerto kick, with no fewer than four concertos premiering this year alone (bringing his total to 33 and counting.)

One of those, the Violin Concerto, was performed for the first time last week by the New York Philharmonic with guest conductor Marin Alsop. Unfolding over three movements played without pause, the concerto - Nico's fourth attempt at the genre - was less virtuosic showpiece than a deft interplay between soloist and orchestra, requiring French violinist Renaud Capuçon, composed yet energetic in his tailored tux, to play nearly nonstop for almost its entire 23 minutes. Filled with pulses, loops and phasing, the music inhabited the same sound world as Steve Reich and John Adams while exhibiting Nico's own distinct blend of shimmering textures and high-pitched tonality, occasionally enhanced by "suspended metals." Among the curious listeners I spotted on Saturday night were several big-name composers, including Kevin Puts, Matthew Aucoin and Nico's onetime boss, Philip Glass.  

The real star of the night, however, was Alsop, who conducted the remainder of the program from memory, and with total command. Brandishing a purple baton in honor of International Women's Day and her own new initiative to promote women conductors, Alsop led crisp, striking performances of Beethoven's Leonore No. 3 overture, Brahms' Haydn Variations and especially Stravinsky's Firebird, which got myself and everyone around me to jump out of their seat at the downbeat of the "Infernal Dance." The plaintive, exposed solo horn passage which begins the majestic Finale was nailed by guest Katy Woolley, principal horn of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, just the latest in a long line of subs for Phil Myers, who left the Phil eight years ago. (Presumably, Woolley wasn't the audible flub I heard during the Haydn variations.)

Forget about Diversity initiatives: with this performance, Alsop proved once again that she is one of the most formidable conductors on the planet, with a clear vision and the ability to get precisely what she wants, at least most of the time. 

Nico's trumpet concerto Doom Painting receives its world premiere this weekend in Belgium with Tine Thing Helseth. Meanwhile, his Sounding for piano and orchestra (2024) will be performed for only the second time this week (March 13-16) by Adam Tendler and the New Jersey Symphony; tickets and information here. As for the NY Phil, if you want to see them perform this week with incoming music director Gustavo Dudamel, you'll need a bit of luck: all performances are sold out. 

Marin Alsop and the New York Philharmonic, 3/8/25. Peter Matthews

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Vienna Philharmonic with Riccardo Muti, Carnegie Hall, 3/1/25. Pete Matthews

In January 2003, I took my first-ever trip to Vienna: a five-day whirlwind that included visits to museums and palaces, beisls and balls. I paid my respects at the Zentralfriedhof, where the graves of Beethoven, Schubert, Mozart, Brahms and Strauss are all clustered together. And, somehow, I made it into both the Vienna Staatsoper and Musikverein, the gilded home of the Vienna Philharmonic. On my very last night, I saw Riccardo Muti - who then was still in charge of La Scala and arguably at the height of his powers - conduct the VPO in a performance of Schubert's 9th symphony (the "Great") that was seared into my memory: grand, majestic, noble, inspiring. I met Muti in the Musikverein's small reception room afterwards, and the Maestro radiated machismo. "Bene," he exhaled as he signed my program with an indecipherable squiggle.

Although Muti has appeared with the Vienna Phil every year since 1971 - a record unmatched by any conductor, living or deceased - I haven't seen them perform together since that concert 22 years ago, save for the streams of December's 200th anniversary performance of Beethoven's 9th and the most recent New Year's Day concert. That drought ended this weekend, when Muti, now 83, joined the orchestra on their annual visit to Carnegie Hall for the first time since 2006, with a trio of concerts that played to this venerable orchestra's strengths even if they didn't necessarily break new ground. 

The hall was full on Friday night, buzzing with anticipation as the VPO came out on stage en masse, led by concertmaster Rainer Honeck (brother of Manfred), one of three concertmasters on Vienna's roster. Scanning the ensemble, I saw lots of familiar faces: most looked the same, while others seemed shockingly older, like those college friends you see once a year. I also noticed a few more women among the ranks, but given that the Vienna Phil only started admitting women in 1997, it will be a long time - if ever - before this orchestra achieves the gender parity of the NY Philharmonic, which is now majority female. 

NY Philharmonic with Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 2/22/25. Pete Matthews

Given all the highly-salivated publicity surrounding the NY Philharmonic's appointment of Gustavo Dudamel as its next music director, you might be forgiven for thinking that the Phil is currently in some kind of limbo/bardo, given that Duda doesn't take the reins til 2026. (He'll be "music director designate" next season.) But, those who venture out to David Geffen Hall right now will find full, enthusiastic houses, engaging programs, and an orchestra that's never looked - or sounded - better. At least not in the 20+ years I've been attending concerts...

Much of that, of course, has to do with the hall's $550 million renovation completed in 2022 which brightened its appearance, improved the acoustics and, crucially, reduced audience capacity by some 500 seats. But, as they say, "you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear," and the NY Phil continues to play with the pride and confidence of an organization as old as the Vienna Philharmonic - both were founded in 1842 - while refusing to rest on its laurels. That's thanks largely to former music director Jaap van Zweden, who brought on several key players during his brief six-year tenure - uniquely among top orchestras, the Phil is now more than 50% female - while making them sound tight and polished. Credit also former CEO Deborah Borda who, in addition to spearheading the hall's renovation, enhanced the orchestra's relevance with numerous innovations, such as ditching the old white-tie-and-tails on the male players in favor of black suits, shirts and ties.

During its current interregnum - assuming the music director makes any difference -  the Phil has come to rely on a rotating cast of guest conductors from across the age and gender spectrum. One of their recent favorites has been the Finnish conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, 39, current principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra and Gothenburg Symphony, who returned last week to conduct works by Shostakovich and Prokofiev. Finland shares a long border - and a fraught history - with Russia, so this is music which Rouvali no doubt has grown up around.