Saint Louis Symphony at Carnegie Hall: Saariaho and Stravinsky

A performance of John Adams' The Gospel According to the Other Mary good enough to convert even the most conservative listener to the Church of New Music.

There is more common than meets the eye to the three works on the programme by the St Louis Symphony Orchestra in the Powell Hall on Saturday night. The rhythmic diversity in each challenges the unity of the orchestra to the extreme.

On 3 September 1912, in a Proms concert which also featured a comedy overture by Granville Bantock and excerpts from Délibes’ ballet Coppélia, Henry Wood and his Queen’s Hall Orchestra gave the world première of Arnold Schoenberg’s Five Orchestral Pieces, a landmark work in atonal expressionism which drew hisses from the hall audience.

Wynton Marsalis’ Violin Concerto in D is a sprawling smorgasbord of a piece, held together by Nicola Benedetti’s ferocious commitment and personality, along with a Mallonee premiere and perfect Petrushka.

Stepping in for an indisposed Marta Gardolińska, the guest conductor leads a virtuosic performance of Lutosławski’s Concerto for Orchestra paired with Leila Josefowičz playing Szymanowski’s Second Violin Concerto.

At the Philharmonie, David Robertson steps in for Kirill Petrenko for a concert all about the wonders of nature, featuring Varèse, Srnka and Beethoven.