Stéphane Denève Leads the Philharmonic in What Feels Like an Audition

“(…) For his Philharmonic debut, he was impressive in Fauré’s “Pelléas et Melisande” Suite and even more so in the New York premiere of the Scottish composer James MacMillan’s Piano Concerto No. 3 (…) It was charming to see Mr. Denève, tall and imposing on the podium with wild curly hair, coaxing such subdued and refined playing from the Philharmonic for this lovely music, especially the mellow, warm string sound. (…) Before the performance of Mr. MacMillan’s concerto, completed in 2008 and first performed in 2011, Mr. Denève gave an engaging and helpful talk about the piece, with Mr. Thibaudet playing excerpts at the piano. (…) The performance was so exuberant and inspired it was impossible not to be swept up in the work, at least for the moment. (…) Mr. Denève brought a strong interpretive stance to the familiar Tchaikovsky Fourth. His reined-in tempos enhanced the weight and breadth of the piece. Climactic moments had brassy sheen and slashing power.”