New York Philharmonic

Combining Bartók’s second Violin Concerto with Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony was a bold move for Alan Gilbert. Bartók’s music is rough around the edges, abrasive and severe but also tepid in parts. Beethoven, on the other hand, is wild and bombastic; The Eroica Symphony is a larger than life work. Performing the two pieces in a single evening was ambitious, but proved triumphant.