The programme for the evening consisted of Symphony No.1 (Classical) - Prokofiev, Fachwerk - Gubaidulina and Symphony No.5 - Tchaikovsky. The orchestra were conducted by their principal conductor Valery Gergiev with Geir Draugsvoll as soloist on the bayan for Sofia Gubaidulina's Fachwerk.
Prokofiev's Classical Symphony from 1917 was written in the style of Haydn and Mozart. This was a delightful way to start the concert at a sold out Barbican Hall. Sofia Gubaidulina's Fachwerk is a concerto for bayan, percussion and strings composed in 2009. The bayan is a Russian form of the piano accordion played brilliantly by soloist Geir Draugsvoll who gave us a large range of sounds from this adventurous piece.
After the interval it was time for the next part of the London Symphony Orchestra's Tchaikovsky cycle with his Symphony No. 5 from 1888. The orchestra and Valery Gergiev took us on an extraordinary journey full of colour and life. This is Tchaikovsky's idea of fate holding the possibility of happiness. At the finale there is all the fury of Cossack dancing that had us all tapping our feet at The Barbican.
This was a wonderful evening that I enjoyed greatly and by the reaction from the audience at the end by many others as well. This was the London Symphony Orchestra on top form making the finest music available and showing why they are rated as one of the top orchestras in the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment