I went on the spur of the moment to see this orchestra at Sheffield City Hall tonight . It was an all Tchaikovsky programme of which Raymond Gubbay or Victor Hochhauser would have been proud .
The SCH was packed to the rafters only a few rows in the side balcony left a very grey haired audience however generally. Certainly much fuller than for a much better Sibelius concert with the RLPO and Petrenko a couple of years ago.
Marche Slave was fine - whipped up quite a storm
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with Natalia Lomeiko - a disappointing performance despite some lovely solo playing though lacking a bit in brilliance . Soloist and conductor seemed to have rather different ideas about the piece - she was going for a slower soulful approach but as soon as Polyansky got the reins he rushed her along for a while . The Canzonetta worked best . There were also a few fluffs - at one stage some cellos seemed to come in a bar early and the soloist and orchestra nearly didn't finish together .
The Fifth Symphony was undermined by Polyansky pulling the tempo about all over the place in the first two movements . The valse went well and a storm was whipped up in the finale too albeit again I felt he was too quick in the andante maestoso which undermined the contrast with the allegro vivace which whilst exciting ( and some very good wind and characterful brass playing in particular ) was all a bit gabbled and over hysterical .
Came home and played the legendary Szell to remind myself how it should go !
The SCH was packed to the rafters only a few rows in the side balcony left a very grey haired audience however generally. Certainly much fuller than for a much better Sibelius concert with the RLPO and Petrenko a couple of years ago.
Marche Slave was fine - whipped up quite a storm
Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with Natalia Lomeiko - a disappointing performance despite some lovely solo playing though lacking a bit in brilliance . Soloist and conductor seemed to have rather different ideas about the piece - she was going for a slower soulful approach but as soon as Polyansky got the reins he rushed her along for a while . The Canzonetta worked best . There were also a few fluffs - at one stage some cellos seemed to come in a bar early and the soloist and orchestra nearly didn't finish together .
The Fifth Symphony was undermined by Polyansky pulling the tempo about all over the place in the first two movements . The valse went well and a storm was whipped up in the finale too albeit again I felt he was too quick in the andante maestoso which undermined the contrast with the allegro vivace which whilst exciting ( and some very good wind and characterful brass playing in particular ) was all a bit gabbled and over hysterical .
Came home and played the legendary Szell to remind myself how it should go !
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