Boston Globe reviews National Phil of Russia

Jeremy Eichler from The Boston Globe offered a more mixed assessment of the National Philharmonic of Russia than did Mr. Gantz, but since this isn't an email thread between the two of them, Mr. Eichler's review will take precedence here. Here's a smidge of Russian orchestra makes a booming debut (I sense a theme running through these...):

"The group's playing overall was pleasantly booming and extroverted, with aggressive brass and extremely spirited if roughly groomed strings. The Shostakovich bubbled and popped in all the right places, and the Tchaikovsky brimmed, if not with pathos, then with visceral orchestral excitement, though it was marred by some wayward passages in the winds and brass. Spivakov's resume earns him more authority as a violinist than as a conductor, and this program offered little evidence on which to revise that opinion, but it hit the major bases and was very enthusiastically received."

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