After 42 years, the National Symphony Orchestra of Washington returned to the Palau de la Música Catalana with an impressive display and their conductor Gianandrea Noseda, to perform a program of 20th and 21st-century composers.
The concert began with the European premiere of the Concerto for Orchestra Wake up, by Kennedy Center resident composer Carlos Simon. A piece that surprised the audience with its nuances and reminiscent of the soundtracks of multiple films.
Next, the special guest appeared, Hilary Hahn. Wearing a gala dress, she performed Korngold's Violin Concerto. The camaraderie with the orchestra and the conductor was evident, exchanging gestures and glances, to mark a perfect Allegretto Finale.
The violinist wanted to thank the audience for the long applause with two encores. Firstly, the world premiere of a piece that Simon himself composed for her, Shards of the Light; followed by J.S. Bach's Partita No. 3, Gavotte en rondeau.
In the second half, orchestra and conductor surpassed the high level of the preceding performances, with a "desperate" Symphony No. 5 by Shostakovich, as described by the conductor himself, executed flawlessly.
A Palau de la Música without words that still managed to hear one more brief encore, Nimrod, from Edward Elgar's Enigma Variations. An audience that experienced a concert to remember, with artists who wanted to thank their attendance by appearing to sign autographs, where a long line of admirers awaited them.