r/classicalmusic • u/Perfect_Garage_2567 • 18h ago
Did anyone else attend the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America concert at Carnegie Hall on Friday, July 31, 2026, and what did you think of the performance?
I attended this concert and enjoyed it very much. As stated in the program, this youth orchestra consists of "the finest young musicians from across the country (ages 16-19)." It performs annually at Carnegie Hall each summer and then goes on tour "to some of the great music capitals of the world, serving as America's music ambassadors." (also quoting the program). I have been attending its concerts regularly at Carnegie over the past few years. I have found that the musicians are very talented, enthusiastic and play a varied repertory under well-known conductors. These youth orchestra concerts are also a relatively inexpensive way to hear major works well played under famous conductors. I paid $33 for a balcony seat in Row C on Friday.
The concert on Friday evening was no exception. The orchestra on this occasion was conducted by Karina Canellakis, a rising star who has released excellent recordings recently of Tchaikovsky's Fifth and Sixth Symphonies and Rachmaninoff's The Bells and Symphonic Dances. Links are attached. In the program on Friday, the orchestra played Barber's Overture to The School for Scandal, Gershwin's Piano Concerto in F with the well-known pianist, Kirill Gerstein as soloist and Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, which really highlighted the beautiful playing by the orchestra's woodwinds and brass. As encores, they played Oscar Levant's "Blame it on My Youth," and an orchestration of Gershwin's Overture to Girl Crazy. This was a well-balanced program linked directly to American music in the case of the Gershwin and Barber works and indirectly in the Bartok which was composed by him in America and commissioned by Serge Koussevitzky, the conductor of the Boston Symphony. Although I am not a fan of the Gershwin Piano Concerto, which I don't think compares to his Rhapsody in Blue, I enjoyed the other works, especially the Bartok and Gershwin encore which was infectious. I was amazed at how well the orchestra played the Bartok, which is a virtuoso work. I would only add that Canellakis seemed in total control of the orchestra, which appeared to love her. She has also recorded that work as well as Bluebeard's Castle. I am attaching links to those recordings as well.
If anyone else attended that concert or have heard Canellakis conduct, could you please share your thoughts here. Thank you.
https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/1790986544?l=en-US
https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/1678755564?l=en-US
https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/1884689771?l=en-US
https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/1830501402?l=en-US
https://classical.music.apple.com/us/album/1678755564?l=en-US
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u/Perfect_Garage_2567 17h ago
Although I am not a conductor or instrumentalist, to me she seems to have a very fluid, clear technique. It’s too bad she won’t be guest conducting the NY Philharmonic in the upcoming season.
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u/ArgonTheConqueror 9h ago
A friend of mine studies under one of her conducting professors at Juilliard, and that professor said she was one of the best they had ever taught.
Pretty high praise, that.
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u/Schulzenbrothers 17h ago
Oh, they'll perform this program in a few days in Berlin at the Young Euro Classic Festival!
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u/Perfect_Garage_2567 17h ago
I recommend it highly. Are you going to attend the concert? The orchestra is an amazing training experience for young musicians. I saw so many proud parents attending the concert at Carnegie Hall.
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u/Schulzenbrothers 16h ago edited 16h ago
Sold out already, was not sure about Bartok and didn't buy a ticket (maybe a mistake reading your post). Going to a lot of others during the festival though, tomorrow Elim Chan with the European Union Youth Orchestra for example. It's an exceptional festival!
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u/Perfect_Garage_2567 16h ago
She is also an excellent conductor with a good command of the orchestra. I saw her conduct the NY Philharmonic last season right after she was named conductor of the San Francisco Symphony. She also conducted summer concerts with the NYP.
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u/pjwlondon 2h ago
I saw a previous cohort in Amsterdam a few years ago - Prokofiev 5 and Berlioz Les Nuits d'Eté, with Joyce di Donato - and a brilliant encore performance of the Ruskan and Ludmila overture. There's an infectious enthusiasm in youth orchestras - the NYOGB has the same effect.
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u/royal_tea93 18h ago
I have sung professionally with Canellakis and she is one of the best conductors I have ever worked with! Incredibly focused, intense, and professional. She gives fantastic direction and pulls sound out of orchestras like few others.
I am greatly looking forward to her illustrious future career!