THE NEW YORK TIMES
May 14, 2003

A Surprising Bit of Theater in a Birthday Tribute
by Jeremy Eichler

It's not often that the world premiere of a New York Philharmonic commission has anything remotely in common with an Eminem vehicle, but such was the case on May 7 in Avery Fisher Hall for a few moments in the middle of Siegfried Matthus's "Concerto for Two." The soloists were the trumpeter Philip Smith and the trombonist Joseph Alessi, and, in place of a typical cadenza, the two squared off in a scene reminiscent (albeit distantly) of the rap battles from Curtis Hanson's hip-hop-fueled movie "8 Mile."

Just like Eminem and his opponents in the film, Mr. Smith and Mr. Alessi sparred using improvised virtuoso displays, each trying to one-up the other in front of a live audience - not with blistering rhymes, naturally, but by playing faster and louder, exchanging riffs from popular songs, pushing the upper and lower pitch limits of their instruments, and eventually switching to alternatives like the flugelhorn and the alto trombone.

It was a cute bit of theater, playing on the implicit competition that soloists must feel when standing side by side in front of an orchestra, but it was just one part of a light piece composed by Mr. Matthus as a 75th birthday tribute to Mr. Masur.

When not "battling," the two soloists often traded short chromatic volleys in a tight give and take, but the music seemed to never quite arrive anywhere new. The orchestration was frequently spare, with passing arabesques in the winds or dissonant heckling in the strings and percussion. For their parts, Mr. Smith and Mr. Alessi were highly competent soloists, clearly enjoying the rare chance to step forward from the back of the orchestra.

The work was framed by robust readings of Schumann's "Genoveva" Overture and Brahms's Symphony No.1. The Brahms in particular is music that Mr. Masur has always conducted well, and it was good to hear him at the helm again. The orchestra's sound was full and gleaming, with long-breathed melodies and lapidary phrasing. Mr. Masur's interpretation also spoke with that elusive nobility he often brings to German Romantic repertory, doubtless stemming from a lifetime of stubbornly seeking in this music a repository of hope and human values, still able to convey its message from a distant era into our own.