It would be so easy for a great orchestra like the London Philharmonic just to churn out routine accounts of Viennese classics they will have rolled out on the production-line countless times. Not so on Tuesday, when, perhaps stimulated by a packed house and the matchless ambience of Symphony Hall, and certainly responsive to conductor and soloist, the LPO delivered performances which came up sparkling and new.
Lars Vogt (how winningly he has matured from the wunderkind of 20 years ago!) was soloist in Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no.5, his chording rich and eloquent, his articulation deft yet unflashy.
And under the similarly unflashy but clear and expressive baton of Yannick Nezet-Seguin the LPO collaborated with power, crispness and delicacy – what wonderful elfin horns at the heart of the first movement!
Schubert’s Symphony no.9 (in other performances I have labelled it to myself “the Interminable”) here emerged sparkling and fresh, flowing with impetus under the conductor’s empowering beat.
Here there was subtlety, shape, glowing resonance (horns and trombones to the fore), energy and lyricism.
Any thoughts of the work’s overblown architecture were temporarily banished.
Rating * * * * *
