By ANTHONY TOMMASINI NOV. 18, 2016
Jaap van Zweden conducted the New York premiere of Julia Adolphe’s “Unearth, Release,” a viola concerto commissioned by the Philharmonic and the League of American Orchestras. The soloist was Cynthia Phelps, the Philharmonic’s impressive principal violist, who played the world premiere of the concerto this summer in North Carolina. (The score performed on Thursday is a revised version.)
A New York native, Ms. Adolphe, 28, takes an unconventional approach to the concerto genre in “Unearth, Release.” As she writes in a composer’s note, the relationship between the viola and the orchestra “transforms” over this 19-minute work’s three movements.
Ms. Phelps conveyed the emotional nuances and mood shifts of the music in a commanding and plush-toned performance. Mr. van Zweden drew sensitive, confident and colorful playing from the Philharmonic.
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