Mazzoli, Wagner & Dvorak

Nashville Symphony

Nashville, TN

"Sunday was an afternoon of interesting programming and beautiful music making. The evening opened with Yankovskaya addressing the audience from the podium giving a short introduction to Mazzoli’s Orpheus Undone. It is a far more welcoming and contemporary approach from a conductor than simply mounting the podium and immediately putting their back towards the audience.

Yankovskaya crafted an incredible journey throughout the eight minutes [of Wagner’s “Liebestod”]. It was appropriately rapturous when it needed to be, and the music seemed to be ever flowing out of the luscious Nashville string section. I was most curious to see how Yankovskaya would sustain the musical line in [Dvorak’s 7th Symphony] because of the larger structure and I was not disappointed. Her background in opera certainly played a role in preventing the tension of the piece from ever going slack. Each section of the orchestra blended terrifically.

This concert was an intriguing mix that has me wanting more, and it reflected parts of Yankovskaya’s background and her versatility in the repertoire. The conducting by Yankovskaya and the playing by the Nashville symphony was certainly fantastic.”
–Music City Review