Leah Hollingsworth visits New York’s David Geffen Hall on 27 May 2026 for the performance of Noriko Koide, Saint-Saëns and Prokofiev
The fondest of farewells in Carter Brey’s final New York Philharmonic concert. Photo: Brandon Patoc
The New York premiere of Noriko Koide’s Swaddling Silk and Gossamer Rain began with an array of extended techniques spread across the orchestra, offering a tapestry of captivating textures, performed with conviction.
Principal cellist Carter Brey took the stage with aplomb in his final week with the orchestra before retirement. Dressed all in black like his colleagues, Brey was both utterly at ease with his community – smiling warmly and comfortably as he walked on stage – and also clearly able to inspire the entire troupe. The first notes of Saint-Saëns’s Cello Concerto no.1 were infused with charisma and energy and he played the opening with vigour, his runs always impressive. An intimate orchestral tutti set the stage for the second movement as the orchestra welcomed Brey’s lyrical playing with care. His sensitivity and gorgeous vibrato made up for any minor mechanical imperfections along the way, and Brey again brought a combination of energy and composure to the Tempo primo. The performance was a significant finale to his 30-year tenure and the audience leapt to its feet at the close with shouts of ‘We love you, Carter!’ ringing out. Brey performed his own arrangement of Abel Meeropol’s Strange Fruit as an encore and dedicated it to the memory of George Floyd, whose shocking death occurred six years ago this week.
The orchestra also played exceptionally well under the baton of Elim Chan in selections from Prokofiev’s Cinderella, in which she expertly guided it through Prokofiev’s whimsical and dynamic score.
LEAH HOLLINGSWORTH
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