RSNO, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Michael Tumelty
Three stars
IN a season where some concerts seem to be proving difficult to sell, it was a sound initiative by the RSNO to capitalise on its Classic fM connection by bringing in presenter John Suchet and having an entire programme built around his Beethoven addiction; and he sold a bucketful of his books, too. He's an old pro at this game, is Mr Suchet. His easygoing yet committed style is supremely unforced. He is neither learned nor didactic in his delivery; he warms to his subject and his audience, and they warm right back to him. Meat delivery was left to the musicians of the RSNO and director Peter Oundjian, whose performance of the dramatic Egmont Overture, after a scene-setting intro by Suchet, was solid and incisive.
Centrepiece of the night was Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto, with young Frenchman Jonathan Fournel as soloist, in effect collecting an element of his first prize in last year's Scottish International Piano Competition, in which the concerto performance was part of the award. He played better on Saturday than on his earlier recital visit, with some compact and lucid pianism. But high on his agenda should be tempo control, and in particular, harnessing it to the pace of the conductor and the band: he was out of step on three occasions on Saturday. He's got a lot: the rest will come with concentrated listening to the others; a good concerto performance is a collective endeavour.
There was only one way to end this night, and that was with the Fifth Symphony, hammered out in a splendidly full-fat, hi-calorie, muscular version that would have had Ludwig's head banging in agreement.
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