In all of music, there is no more famous passage than the opening phrase of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5; its pronouncement heralds an experience as exultant and emotionally draining as any in Western art. At the height of his powers and furious at the onset of his deafness, Beethoven was strong enough to write passages that seem to be mistakes in order to resolve them in glorious fashion at the victorious conclusion of this seminal work. As Schopenhauer put it, “Beethoven presents us with the greatest confusion which yet has the most perfect order as its foundation.”

One such famous phrase is played by the horns near the beginning of the finale: The dropping down of tone is so striking that it displeases the ear and leaves an unsettled feeling in the listener. Its eventual “correction” leaves the hearer feeling whole again (Wagner, one of the most ardent students of Beethoven’s life and craft, stretched this technique to its limit in “Tristan und Isolde”). Orchestral musicians, to a man, tell me how exciting it is to play this symphony, and I am always thrilled to hear its many inner voices exposed in a good live reading.

Sadly, its performance by the New YorkYouth Symphony on Sunday afternoon at Carnegie Hall was anything but thrilling.The individual musicians, ranging in age from 12 to 22, played very well and with a high degree of accuracy, but the interpretation was one of those tired, conservatory-inspired readings designed to keep the young charges from making any mistakes. Conductor Paul Haas slogged through this gingerly exercise employing a series of relaxed, comfortable tempos – exactly what you don’t want in Beethoven.The fist-flailing fire was entirely missing.

Also on the program was Dvor yak’s cello concerto, featuring the Philharmonic’s Carter Brey. Nothing against Mr. Brey, who acquitted himself adequately – albeit with a disappointingly thin tone – but his appearance begs the question often asked with resentment by students as to why the NYYS employs professional soloists when they have such a large pool of amateur talent at their disposal.Is it a lack of confidence in their aspirants, outright condescension, or simple incompetence?

The concert opened with Bernstein’s “Candide”overture,whose sophisticated syncopations simply eluded this ensemble, and the world premiere of “Axiom” by Ryan Anthony Francis, whose banalities, unfortunately, did not.