Renowned maestro Daniel Harding graced the stage alongside an ensemble of exceptional musicians—alumni from Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA All-Stars)—to conduct a program featuring selections from Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story and Igor Stravinsky’s The Firebird Suite (1919), while the illustrious pianist Yuja Wang delivered a performance of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1.
The evening commenced with an extravagant cocktail reception held in the Rohatyn Room, a banquet venue adorned with oversized posters commemorating celebrated performances—featuring the likes of Judy Garland and Isaac Stern—held at Carnegie Hall. Guests donned tuxedos and elegant gowns as they mingled around the buffet and sushi stations, where chefs presented an endless variety of sashimi and salmon-avocado rolls. Balancing plates of delectable food with the gala’s signature drink—a vibrant pink retro cosmopolitan mixed with vodka, elderflower, and Prosecco—attendees engaged in lively conversations until an usher made his way through, striking a xylophone that signaled the impending start of the concert.
By 7 p.m., the historic Stern Auditorium was fully occupied. Harding—serving as the Music Director of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and Conductor Laureate of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra—took to the Perelman Stage, which was beautifully decorated with bouquets of fuchsia and pink dahlias, roses, and clover. The concert opened with three familiar themes and rhythms from Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from West Side Story, an uninterrupted orchestral suite highlighting key moments from the musical, such as the hopeful “Somewhere,” the dreamlike “Scherzo,” and the exuberant “Mambo.”
Subsequently, Wang captivated the audience as she took the iconic stage for Tchaikovsky’s renowned Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23, a fiery yet deeply moving virtuoso showpiece that she performed while artfully conducting the orchestra from the piano. In a thrilling uninterrupted performance lasting 32 minutes, she enthralled the audience with her exceptional technique and the profound emotional depth inherent in the piece. The resounding fanfares and soaring piano chords that introduce Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto have enchanted listeners since its premiere in 1875, and Wang’s spirited interpretation radiated passion, lyricism, and dazzling bravura—perfectly capturing the essence of the composer’s vision.
