The Philharmonic Quintet of New York rocked out at The College of New Jersey's Mayo Concert Hall on Valentine's Day 09. The concert featured wind players from the New York Philharmonic (Robert Langevin-flute, Sherry Sylar-oboe, Mark Nuccio-clarinet, Judith LeClair-bassoon, Erik Raiske-horn) and TCNJ piano faculty member Tomoko Kanamaru. One highlight of the evening occurred when the lights unintentionally dimmed to blackout (a friend thought he was having a stroke!) during the first (yet almost always performed last) piece of Ibert's Trois pièces brèves and the ensemble kept right on playing. A bit of humor and levity is always a welcomed asset to a concert.
A not so pleasant moment was a dropped program, jingling keys, a closing hall door, or all of the above making a huge racket during Nuccio's clarinet solo. Listeners on the other side of the hall said he made some great faces in response to the added ambient noise.
Encores were aplenty and so were the mustaches. I was really excited to hear a selection of 6 Bagatelles (Ligeti) performed since I had heard an archived performance of the PQNY a couple days before on the radio from a performance at the 92nd St Y with the same encore.
