This afternoon, Ricardo Morales gave a solo performance in front of the Philadelphia Orchestra playing the Copland Clarinet Concerto in a program titled "Sounds of the New World." Besides the Copland, the program included Samuel Barber's Toccata Festiva for Organ and Orchestra (Ken Cowan, the organ soloist) and Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" and Marin Alsop was the conductor.
Mr. Morales' performance of the Copland, to say the least, was a fantastic display of immaculate artistry. In the "Slowly and Expressively" section of the piece (the beginning), his beautiful tone rang through Verizon Hall. As the concerto moved into the latter section, he kept the authenticity of the piece's style while maintaining his incredibly unique sound.
The performance overall was a major success as the audience brought Morales back on stage for three curtain calls. Everyone had fun with the piece and the performance, including Morales judging by his grins and subtle giggling on stage while he interacted with the orchestra accompanying him. After intermission, Mr. Morales returned to the stage (changing from a bow-tie to a neck-tie) to perform the Dvorak with the orchestra.
With this concert being Mr. Morales' final solo performance as principal clarinetist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, all of the members of the group and all of the Philadelphians in the audience showed a great deal of reluctance over him leaving to come to New York.