| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 26-Apr-2013 Walt Disney Concert Hall | Jean-Yves Thibaudet and Lionel Bringuier with the LA Philharmonic in Saint-Säens and Ravel |
 It was the golden jubilee of Saint-Säens as a concert pianist, and in celebration he performed his crowning glory, the Piano Concerto no. 5 in F, “Egyptian”, which he composed while on tour in Luxor, incorporating exotic Middle Eastern melodies and rhythms. The concerto is not known to be given over to excessive fin de siècle romanticism, and whatever there was Jean-Yves Thibaudet certainly didn’t overindulge in.Read full review... | |
| 22-Feb-2013 Carnegie Hall: Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage | Fun, romance, and insanity with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Carnegie Hall |
 Poor Ravel. He was expelled from the Conservatoire; he was consistently rejected for the Prix de Rome; he never married. Along with his contemporaries Stravinsky, Debussy and Satie, he made enormous strides in 20th-century music, but is unfortunately remembered best (when at all) for the plodding fifteen minutes of his 1928 composition Boléro. In 1928, the French composer traveled to New York and was exposed to contemporary big band music; he said of this subsequent work that “each movement of my new concerto has some jazz in it”.Read full review... | |
| 4-Jan-2013 Lincoln Center: Avery Fisher Hall | Manfred Honeck and the New York Philharmonic play it safe in Braunfels, Grieg and Beethoven |
 The Vienna Philharmonic, whose annual New Year’s Day performances of Johann Strauss are broadcast to some 50 million viewers worldwide, apparently aren’t the only ones giving themselves a pass on creative programming around the holidays. The New York Philharmonic and guest conductor Manfred Honeck eased gently into 2013 this weekend with an evening of audience favorites.
Read full review... | |
| 26-Jul-2012 Hollywood Bowl | Music French and American: Denève and Thibaudet at the Hollywood Bowl |
 "Freedom fries": no two words could better summarize the crassness that characterized the early years of the American 21st century.
In the wake of disagreement over the Iraq War, American xenophobes sought to eradicate from these shores any vestige of the Tricolour.
French cheeses? Au revoir!
French wine? Hélas—adieu!
Yet Gallic civilization has permeated American culture far deeper than the adoption of certain foodstuffs.
Read full review... | |
