A triumphal Florida Tour for Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra

For decades, the National Symphony Orchestra has been an enigma. The Washington DC-based ensemble has had distinguished music directors (including Antal Dorati, Mstislav Rostropovich, Leonard Slatkin and Christoph Eschenbach) but has rarely performed above a level of mediocrity. That appears to have totally changed. On Saturday night, the orchestra appeared at the Arsht Center under its current chief conductor Gianandrea Noseda and displayed a standard of performance that can rank with the best of American orchestras. (Noseda’s’s NSO contract was renewed last week through 2031.) Noseda, who is also music director of the Zurich Opera and principal guest conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, is a vigorous and dynamic presence on the podium. His beat is totally clear and his gestures purposeful to the music’s changing moods and dynamics. He drew consistently brilliantly playing from all sections, encouraging the musicians to really project incisively and with tonal luster. Noseda’s total command of the ensemble was immediately evident in Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances. An unapologetic pops piece, Simon’s appealing concoction is a minefield of changes in meter, dynamics and balances. Strong and vibrant brass captured the bluesy caste of “Ring Shout” with a country fiddle adding a down-home touch. The waltz movement is full- scale Hollywood of the Miklós Rózsa variety. The percussion battery was put through its paces in “Stomp.” A contemporary pop sensibility engulfed “Holy Dance” with Noseda ratcheting up the volume and excitement, with the brass imposing in full cry. (…) Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C minor is probably the most frequently programmed of all symphonies but there was nothing conventional or mundane about the performance by Noseda and the NSO. This was thoroughly modern Beethoven with taut pacing and spare vibrato. The relentless momentum Noseda brought to the iconic first movement Allegro con brio was undeniably exciting, leading one audience member to yell out “Yeah!” at the movement’s conclusion.

(South Florida Classical Review, Lawrence Budmen)