Concert review: María Dueñas (violin) Philadelphia Orchestra/Yannick Nézet-Séguin

‘Breathtaking’ said my friend, softly, after hearing María Dueñas sprint like a gazelle through Bruch’s First Violin Concerto, buoyed by the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin, as the centrepiece of the ensemble’s opening night. In a chat with the evening’s host, Terry Gross (co-host of the radio show Fresh Air), the conductor described Dueñas’s artistry as if from another era, with wisdom far beyond her 23 years. Certainly, she fielded the necessary fireworks – at times her bow strokes all but lashing the instrument – atop the orchestra’s luxurious cushion.

During the tender central interlude, as her final phrase disappeared into the ether, a smattering of applause was discreetly damped by Nézet-Séguin, with nothing more than a well-placed hand gesture. In the finale, Dueñas was notably in sync with the ensemble, clearly aloft by the composer’s mounting excitement, until the final flourishes, her bow perfectly aligned with those of her colleagues.

Earlier in the evening came the world premiere of Terence Blanchard’s suite from his opera, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, which also showed the strings at their best. Always eager to cite individual musicians, the conductor singled out two: principal cellist Hai-Ye Ni, who poured out a brief but memorable solo line, and associate principal bassist Gabriel Polinsky, whose thumping pizzicatos were a reminder of Blanchard’s jazz roots. To end the evening came Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet – a familiar score, yet with the entire orchestra taking nothing for granted – and the Philadelphia strings in a model demonstration of their decades-long reputation.

BRUCE HODGES