Conductor Tianhui Ng clears a path with the New England Philharmonic
May 2, 2022, by A.Z. Madonna, The Boston Globe
Music director finalist Tianhui Ng conducts the New England Philharmonic at the Boston University Tsai Performance Center. PAT GREENHOUSE/GLOBE STAFF
Explaining one’s own music is “very easy to do badly,” said composer Yehudi Wyner at the beginning of the New England Philharmonic’s concert on Sunday afternoon. A few moments later, the orchestra premiered Wyner’s new piece, the short but mighty “Richard Pittman . . . Come Back!”, a commission in honor of the orchestra’s music director emeritus. Wyner elected to say little else.
Writing music and talking about it are indeed two entirely separate skill sets, and at the concert, neither the Pulitzer Prize-winning veteran Wyner nor the 2020 New England Philharmonic Call for Scores winner Sofia Rocha seemed eager to expound on their pieces when invited to take the mic. No matter: That’s not their job as composers. But it’s no secret that for many classical listeners who are more accustomed to hearing orchestras play Mozart and Beethoven, 20th- and 21st-century orchestral music (the New England Philharmonic’s specialty) can feel inaccessible or intimidating at best, so it’s a good idea to have someone on hand who can be the listeners’ guide. On Sunday afternoon at the Tsai Performance Center at Boston University, Singapore-born conductor Tianhui Ng, who currently directs several ventures including Boston Opera Collaborative and the Pioneer Valley Symphony, showed he could easily be that someone for the New England Philharmonic.