NEW YORK — In this city of rampant subway rerouting and restaurant-out-of-business signs, one event was absolutely certain Friday at Carnegie Hall: Yannick Nézet-Séguin was welcomed like a hero.
Amid a protracted standing ovation after the all-Rachmaninoff concert, Nézet-Séguin good-humoredly told the audience: “If you want an ... encore, please come back tomorrow!” At times, the Rachmaninoff performances took on an air of emphatic defiance: The musicians were likely outperforming the Russians on their own musical territory.
Guest engagements with the Rotterdam Philharmonic and current La Scala run will also be canceled. Milan’s mayor, Beppe Sala, who is also director of the La Scala board, was quoted as saying, “We are asking him to make his position clear against this invasion and if he does not do so, we will be forced to renounce our collaboration with him.”