Star Rating: *** To hear the two Brahms piano concertos in one evening is such a rarity - this critic, in a lifetime of concert-going, had never before experienced them "back to back," as the printed programme put it - that it gave Murray McLachlan's presentation of them an aura the moment he touched the keyboard of the sonorous Bosendorfer that was his chosen instrument on Sunday.
Though the second concerto is the obverse of the first, the challenge each of them poses, along with their daunting length, has always kept them apart. But McLachlan proved he had the stamina and concentration to bind them together and, in performances of notable breadth and vigour, he held the attention of a packed house from start to finish.
But not only the soloist needs Brahmsian muscle for these works. So does the orchestra, and here McLachlan profited from the presence of the recently-formed Rose Street Ensemble, whose 50 freelance professionals, conducted by Robert Dick, brought firm articulation to the music, holding enough in reserve to make the second concerto - with a thundering scherzo and lovely cello tone in the slow movement - sound even more rewarding than the first.
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