Another superb evening at the Barbican with the LSO and Bernard Haitink.The concert opened with Britten's Four Sea Interludes, which, although well played, did not quite come off. I had the feeling that Haitink had made an error of judgement. After all, he has conducted the complete Peter Grimes at Covent Garden, and perhaps he thought that some of the emotional weight in the theatre context should be played down in a concert performance. The result was a very four square and measured reading, particularly in the Sunday Morning interlude, which was very slow and deliberate.
After this disappointment, the concert took wing with a peerless performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17, K453 by Maria Joao Pires. I really haven't heard a better judged performance of this lovely work, her range of tone in the cadenzas was very special, and Haitink and the orchestra were at one with her.
After the interval came a marvellously sprung performance of Beethoven's 7th, which quite rightly got a huge roar of enthusiasm at the end. It was great to hear the trio of the scherzo played as marked, instead of slowing down to a stodgy pace as we so often get in lesser performances. Haitink conducted without a score, and the evening had turned into a triumph after a slightly awkward start.
After this disappointment, the concert took wing with a peerless performance of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 17, K453 by Maria Joao Pires. I really haven't heard a better judged performance of this lovely work, her range of tone in the cadenzas was very special, and Haitink and the orchestra were at one with her.
After the interval came a marvellously sprung performance of Beethoven's 7th, which quite rightly got a huge roar of enthusiasm at the end. It was great to hear the trio of the scherzo played as marked, instead of slowing down to a stodgy pace as we so often get in lesser performances. Haitink conducted without a score, and the evening had turned into a triumph after a slightly awkward start.
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