Music
RSNO
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Rosie Davies
four stars
“ONE of the curses of being a ballet conductor is that it’s always too fast”, said charismatic guest conductor Andrew Litton, music director at New York City Ballet, after apologising for his lack of tails and acknowledging his abrasive jazz-piano tie. “One of the benefits of conducting with just an orchestra is that I can take the tempo I really want to take. Tonight it’s going to be fast.”
There is something in Litton’s amiable style that clearly clicked with the RSNO, and the result was a full-colour, wholly enjoyable performance of a commendably balanced platter of music. Presented as "a night at the ballet", programming could easily have slipped down an unashamedly crowd-pleasing route of theme-night big hits; instead, suites from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty were balanced by exotic Ravel and wholesome Stravinsky. All were delivered not only with notable finesse - well-poised dynamics, nuanced textures and poetic solos - but a sense of enjoyment that bounced across to the audience.
Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky fizzed with energy, particularly in fleets of strings which shifted from an admirable gossamer softness to real elbow-greased, bow-digging force. Ravel’s Mother Goose stood out for its quiet power, especially in the subtle build of its final movement, The Fairy Garden, before the gripping finale of Stravinsky’s 1945 Firebird suite, with a treasure trove of excellent solos peeking out amongst startling, captivating orchestral contrasts.
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