By Emily Oo
One cold Thursday night in the middle of February, I had the wonderful opportunity to enjoy the New York Philharmonic performing Debussy’s La Mer and more. I truly had a great time watching the orchestra prove their talents at the David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. From the conductor to every single person of the orchestra, the performances left a satisfying mark on me. Despite the fact that I was sitting in the large, well-attended venue filled with older, fancier people, I was just happy that I was able to witness true classical music along with them. I am very grateful to have been part of the audience that night!
The amazing conductor of the night was Karina Canellakis, who, according to the New York Philharmonic program, is the chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and the principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Well-respected by some of the most renowned musicians and musical institutions around the world, Canellakis earned a Grammy nomination for the debut release of her multi-album collaboration with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest and Pentatone, called Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra and Four Orchestral Pieces. Besides this impressive achievement, she also won the Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award in 2016, which opened many doors for her to work closely with some of the world’s leading ensembles, including the Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston Symphony Orchestras, as well as the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Upon learning about her success as a conductor, I can only say that it seems incredibly well-deserved. Even though I don’t know much about the art of conducting, I could still appreciate her sharp yet flowing movements that kept the entire orchestra in sync. I think it’s fair to say that a good conductor is like the glue of the orchestra!
Another star of the show was the German solo violinist Veronika Eberle. According to the program, Eberle made her debut at age 16 at the 2006 Salzburg Easter Festival, performing the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Berlin Philharmonic. She has been playing the violin from a very young age, and now in 2025, she is making her season debuts with prestigious ensembles including the New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, led by Nathalie Stutzmann. In her beautiful, shiny silver dress, she took our breaths away with her performance. I imagine being a soloist might not be the easiest job in the world; the spotlight is all on you. However, I think she performed incredibly well, and I can totally believe that she’s been a violin prodigy since the age of six. At the end of the day, the New York Philharmonic truly earned their well-deserved reputation with the help of such talented musicians.
In addition to the conductor and the soloist, the entire orchestra performed very skillfully as well. Since it was a large orchestra, I did not have a chance to fully examine every single one of the performers, but I was able to tell that everyone was engaging overall. All the performers were dressed in formal concert attire, and though they did not speak to the audience, we were still engaged by their smiles and appreciative gestures. I did not mind them not speaking- I think there is a respectable level of professionalism in the way the classical music is presented in instrumental notes and not verbal words. I would definitely want to hear them again if I was given the option.
I heard four amazing performances at the concert, with Claude Debussy’s La Mer being the one that stood out the most. Living from 1862 to 1918, the French composer was known for rejecting the traditional harmonic structures and shaping “Impressionism” in music, and thus creating a unique descriptive language revolving around sound, color, and emotion. La Mer, one of the most celebrated works of Debussy, is an example of one, and I attest to it myself as I boarded the ship to the sea. La Mer, meaning “The Sea,” was composed to evoke the changing moods and textures of the sea, not to tell a story but rather to paint the immersive picture of the sea’s unpredictable beauty. Listening to the piece, I felt transported to the ocean, experiencing its calmness and chaos through waves of sound that felt both intimate and vast. Despite not growing up in a musical household, Debussy truly rose from modest beginnings to becoming one of the most influential composers in Western music, making his work like La Mer all the more inspiring. Experiencing La Mer showed me that music can be alive, with the ocean surging through my ears and into my bloodstreams, carrying me along with the tide.
Before La Mer, the NY Philharmonic first performed Lumiere et Pesanteur (Light and Gravity) by Kaija Saariaho, a Finnish composer known for her hauntingly ethereal music. This piece is the perfect example. It made me feel like I was floating on a ray of light, defying the laws of gravity. Saariaho arranged an eerily beautiful solo trumpet that supports the lingering calls of the soprano with the help of other instruments such as the oboe, the violin, and the celesta. Along with the faint delicacy of the sound, there was an atmospheric heaviness in its shadows, and I think the title suits it perfectly.
The next piece was the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by Alban Berg where Veronika Eberle showcased her wonderful talent as a violin soloist. Written in memory of Manon Gropius, a young girl whom Berg had cherished since her childhood, this tragic masterpiece was heartfelt, provoking bittersweet emotions in me and the entire audience. It has a 12-tone structure, with each row ensuring to deliver an every deeper melodic message that was meant to be expressed. Among the many instruments involved, I felt like the strings of the solo violin, especially, tampered with the strings of our hearts.
Last but not least is Les Offrandes oubliées: Meditation symphonique pour orchestre (The Forgotten Offerings: Symphonic Meditation for Orchestra) by Olivier Messiaen, which shifted the focus onto a spiritual meditation. In Messiaen’s words, some of his works are “destined to highlight the theological truths of the Catholic faith.” While I admit it did make me sleepy, there was a slow, sacred quality to it that made me feel like I was in a solemn church. Since I am not Christian, this kind of music was not something I heard during my childhood. That could have contributed to its lack of allure for me. Altogether, all four pieces, each by a different composer with a distinct voice, tied together like pieces to an hour and one third long jigsaw puzzle, portraying a beautiful and cohesive experience for me and everyone else in the audience.
In conclusion, this was a wonderful experience that is worth a revisit. As someone who did not grow up watching live orchestras, I am so happy that this was my first experience. When I saw that the tickets for the NY Philharmonic were on sale for just $25, I knew I had to be there! I felt a little intimidated by the setting and the audience, as it was very fancy and formal, and from what I saw, there must have been only a handful of people my age, ranging from 18 to 24, including me and my boyfriend. Despite this possible difference in demographics, I still enjoyed it to the fullest. Though my mind did wander away from the music for a couple moments throughout the night, this was a splendid experience overall that I truly appreciated. (I would say it made such a sweet date as well!) I would see the New York Philharmonic again; I cannot wait to see which amazing composer’s work the wickedly talented performers perform next!
Citations
New York Philharmonic Concert Program. New York Philharmonic, 18 Apr. 2025, David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, New York.
“Claude Debussy.” Encyclopaedia Britannica, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 21 Mar. 2025. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Claude-Debussy
Haba, Kenji. “20 Things You Don’t Know About Claude Debussy.” Willan Academy of Music, 9 May 2020, www.willanacademy.com/20-things-you-dont-know-about-claude-debussy/. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.
