Jonathan Biss with Orpheus
The only point on which I agree with Times critic Allan Kozinn about the other night's Orpheus concert at Carnegie Hall is that the program was unusual. You know me about programs - read any of my MET Orchestra pieces. I didn't expect to like what Orpheus was serving, a sequence of World Premiere, Mendelssohn Piano Concerto, New York Premiere, Mendelssohn Symphony. But the evening was quite satisfying, and if anything the new works gave an edge to the Mendelssohn that might have been lacking in more conventional surroundings. Mr Kozinn didn't much care for the World Premiere and the Symphony, and he thought that the programming was just odd. I found it interesting, and it took me one step closer to shedding my dread of dissonant, irregular music. It still has its longueurs for me, but Orpheus never fails to shimmer whatever it plays with beauty.
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