Review: NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC FEATURES YO YO MA at David Geffen Hall At Lincoln Center

It's always exciting to hear or see a musician's performance debut. It's doubly exciting when a musician of Daniela Candillari's caliber makes her New York Philhamonic debut in the beautifully refreshed David Geffen Hall. Ms.Candillari displayed the confidence of the seasoned performer she is, and one would never know it was her first time conducting the New York Philharmonic on February 28.

Her first challenge did not seem like a challenge at all. Missy Mazzoli's 2013 River Rouge Transfiguration was a ten minute "mish mash" (Mazzoli's words) of style, tempo, dynamics, instrumentation, and genre. Intricate changes in any and all of these were deftly handled by both conductor and orchestra. The acoustics in Geffen brought out all the nuances of sound. Although there were many, however, the dynamics were mostly in the loud category. The audience response was respectful and polite.

The moment the sold out audience had patiently waited for had now arrived. YoYo Ma, perhaps the greatest living exponent of the cello in the world, took the stage to play Edward Elgar's 1919 cello concerto.

The cello does not have a huge repertoire, but after the rough start at its inception Elgar 's masterpiece took its place as one of the stars of the catalog. Mr.Ma looked absolutely delighted to be on stage with the Philharmonic, and stayed that way throughout the concerto. The orchestra, judging by all the smiles, was happy to have him with them.

Mr. Ma's entrances seem to come from nowhere, picked out of the air. His phrase releases disappeared the same way. Mr. Ma never "phones it in". He was completely immersed in the music and took the orchestra and the audience along with him. For this piece Ms. Candallari gave Mr. Ma the lead. She and the orchestra provided just the right amount of support. The lyricism of his playing was lush and singing, in perfect sync with Ms. Candallari. What a treat it was to see and hear this wonderful artist! He shared his gifts lavishly with all, smiling all the time, and at the conclusion he made sure to recognize all the soloists (and the full orchestra) who contributed to the beauty. The audience response was overwhelming, with cheers, applause and calls for an encore, not to mention a standing ovation.As his encore, Mr. Ma played a heartfelt Catalonian folk song "Song of the Birds"for solo cello. It was a lovely way to send the audience into intermission.

The entire second half of the concert was given over to Antonin Dvorák's Symphony No.8 in G major. This sunny, genial work was completed in a happy period of Dvorák's life, when he was back in Czechoslovakia (from a brief stint in the United States) and had just been admitted to the ranks of the Czech Academy of the Emperor Franz Joseph for Sciences, Literature and Arts. In fact, he dedicated the 1890 work to the Academy.

Ms. Candillari brought out all the inner voices, again, helped by the clear acoustic of the hall. Her enthusiastic, energetic yet sensitive direction gave the orchestra all it needed to produce massive excitement. Ms. Candillari had perfect control over the orchestra who followed her every gesture. The trumpet calls were not strident but rather proclamatory, calling the audience to dance! Both Robert Langevin (principal flute) and Anthony McGill (principal clarinet) gave dazzling performances of their intermittent solos.