THIS should have been a clear-cut five-star concert.

After all, the RSNO has a superb principal guest conductor in the Dane, Thomas Sondergard, a man leaping up the ladder of acclaim. Plus, on Saturday, they pulled off a programme trick that is effective and not uncommon: a major, central work in the programme, such as the traditional large-scale concerto, finds itself transposed from its usual position as the fulcrum of the first half, either to the very beginning or the very end of the concert.

This sounds like wordplay, but it can change the whole dynamic of a concert. And in this context, the transposition of Dvorak's Cello Concerto with the Nordic giant Truls Mork, a figure of rock with a heart of passion, to a place where it occupied the whole of the first half, was logical and effective.

It was a glorious performance, rich, noble and intense, with an incredible moment, late on in the piece, where Mork acquired a partner in RSNO leader Maya Iwabuchi, and together, entwined, they soared off to another place. Heart-stopping.

This cleared the decks for Sondergard and the RSNO to devote the second half to Stravinsky's Petrushka, rightly nudging its way into the public consciousness as we are all looking at the 100-year-old Rite Of Spring. And it was very good; excitingly played if not quite full-blooded, with some thrilling tempo choices, if not quite of blow-away proportions.

Then Sondergard came back on for a chat and conducted an encore movement from Sibelius's Historical Scenes. The band, the audience, and the evening ignited. Was there a message there? Damn right. Read this Saturday's column for that message.

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