Music
RSNO
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Keith Bruce
four stars
ALTHOUGH I have no prissy objection to orchestras playing single movements from symphonies as part of a concert programme, I am not convinced that the "Death in Venice" Adagietto from Mahler's Fifth sat particularly well immediately after the interval in this programme of romantic – if not exactly cheery – music for the feast of St Valentine. By the same token, I don't know where else it might have gone and it was worth hearing for the RSNO's ravishing string playing, and, more soberly, its lessons on how the string sections can combine.
Beyond that, conductor Jean-Claude Picard's programme was structurally very sound, with the bugle call of Tchaikovsky's Capriccio Italien that opened the concert finding an echo in the Octavian's hunting horn that heralds the waltzes of Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier Suite that closed it, and the orchestra's brass in fine, measured form in both. The latter was also memorable for the solo contributions of leader Maya Iwabuchi and principal oboe Adrian Wilson, who had a busy evening throughout.
At the heart of this celebration of St Valentine, which attracted a capacity house, was Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto, a quintessential romantic work, with melodies known to many from the Brief Encounter soundtrack or Eric Carmen's 1975 hit All By Myself. Soloist Boris Giltburg could not have drawn listeners in more perfectly than he did with his playing of the opening bars, and Picard's visible attention to balance, and physical command of the orchestra's dynamics made for a pretty much perfect partnership. That precision control from the podium was evident throughout the programme in what was a very good night for the orchestra's young associate conductor.
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