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The NYCB Orchestra


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The NYCB orchestra was once considered the best ballet orchestra in the country, but that is no longer the case. In an interview last month in the Toronto Globe (no longer available online for free), violinist James Ehnes spoke of attending a performance:

Ehnes, whose wife is a ballet dancer, has no good memories of his last visit to the company's Lincoln Center home, where he was appalled by the state of the orchestra.

"There are some great players there, but the orchestra was horrible," he said. "It was hard for me to sit through."

Has the orchestra changed? Was it always bad? Has it always been good? How has it been affected by different music directors, conductors, artistic directors, labor disputes?

I'd be especially interested in the views of musicians, professional or non.

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NYCB Orchestra used to be so highly competent that they had a recording on the market that sold rather well, of "Pas de Dix" (from Raymonda), "Allegro Brilliante", and the Glinka pas de trois. Beginning with Jascha Zayde and continuing with Robert Irving, the orchestra was highly competent, and deserved Balanchine's "If you don't like the dancing, close your eyes and listen to the music. We have a wonderful orchestra." (Of course, the next thing you know, they had gone on strike, and Mr. B. said, "I won't talk about them. They are monsters!") The decline seemed to be far away by 1985, but by 1990, the standard had audibly slipped. I think it hit bottom in 1998, and has been rebounding, but it's been a slow bounce.

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My impression of the orchestra over several decades of listening until I moved to the West Coast in 1994 was that the orchestra played more consistently well under Robert Irving, but the absolute highs were when Hugo Fiorato conducted the lush orchestra scores, like Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony and the big Tchaikovsky scores (ex: Diamonds, Piano Concerto No. 2), where his experience as a violinist brought out the best in the strings.

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Oh, I have very clear memories of the orchestra playing -- well, bizarrely is the best word -- under Irving. Several times during his latest years, the winds and strings were nowhere near each other -- even in Nutcracker!!!

I think Fiorato sounded better as time went on. I don't know if that's an absolute, or just in comparison with some of the other conductors both at NYCB and elsewhere. I also like the orchestra's sound under Quinn.

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I thought there was a brief improvement when Guillermo Figueroa was concertmaster but he's gone on to bigger & presumably better venues & the orchestra is sounding less "insieme" or "of a piece" since his departure.

The Toronto Globe? They're probably still smarting over Vince Carter's defection to our "other" local basketball team. :yahoo:

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I thought there was a brief improvement when Guillermo Figueroa was concertmaster but he's gone on to bigger & presumably better venues & the orchestra is sounding less "insieme" or "of a piece" since his departure.

The Toronto Globe? They're probably still smarting over Vince Carter's defection to our "other" local basketball team. :yahoo:

figueroa's "barber violin concerto" made you forget the rest of the orchestra was there, and the dancers also -- really from heaven

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figueroa's "barber violin concerto" made you forget the rest of the orchestra was there,

Figueroa's Barber Violin Concerto made me forget Elmar Oliveira's Barber Violin Concerto, which was no mean feat. I thought Figueroa's promotion to concertmaster was one of the best developments to happen to the orchestra. I used to cringe especially listening to Martin Alsop's lead in Bach Concerto for Two Violins whenever Concerto Barocco was programmed. [Note: As Farrell Fan pointed out below, the correct name of the former NYCB concertmaster is Lamar Alsop, not Martin Alsop.]

On a related note, having listed to Jerry Zimmerman play all of the Robbins Chopin ballets repeatedly, I thought that he was one of the foremost contemporary interpreters of Chopin and one of NYCB's best kept secrets. I really looked forward to hearing his Goldberg Variations as well.

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Helene, you've conflated the names of the Alsops, father and daughter, in an interesting way. The violinist who made you cringe was Lamar Alsop; his daughter the conductor is Marin Alsop.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>


Oh dear, you are so right. wub.gif

I must have been thinking subconciously of Marin Alsop, because I am seeing her conduct the Seattle Symphony in a couple of weeks.
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[Oh dear, you are so right.  :blink: 

I must have been thinking subconciously of Marin Alsop, because I am seeing her conduct the Seattle Symphony in a couple of weeks.

Marin conducted the NYPhil Candide that was telecast on PBS a few months ago.

I thought she did a terrific job with that; it's a real difficult, somewhat troubled piece to pull off, but she kept it light and airy.

Richard (starting to wander from NYCB orch to NYPhil)

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figueroa's "barber violin concerto" made you forget the rest of the orchestra was there, and the dancers also -- really from heaven

... and the Berg, the Brahms, the Prokofiev, the Stravinsky, the Adams ...

Maestro Figueroa has been Musical Director of the Puerto Rico Symphony since 2000 & of the New Mexico Symphony since 2003. He still plays as well.Lucky Albuquerque!

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