The Stradivarius cello played by Steven Isserlis also took a bow at the end of his performance, its tonal qualities lighting the aural experience. Yet it was the magical artistry of Isserlis that shone incandescently in Tchaikovsky’s Variations on a Rococo Theme.
Lyrical pathos, emotive power, passion and an unrestrained freedom of expression all combined here to furnish his performance with an indelible glow, sumptuously supported by Kirill Karabits and the BSO.
With an extraordinary dose of youthful bravura Karabits has just snatched the crown that was Andrew Litton’s, as far as Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No 4 is concerned, and thrust it into the refining fire of the BSO, Litton’s old band albeit with many new faces, and burnished it anew.
Rarely has the Sword of Damocles been more keenly honed than here; the brass were stunning and the first movement climax searing as if to change the course of fate.
The felicities of oboe and bassoon were outstanding and strings richly fervent. Karabits' attention to antiphonal dynamics in the Scherzo were superbly observed, the finale bursting upon us with a precision of attack that left everyone, bar those resolute players, in awe.
Mozart’s Symphony No 29 had Karabits book-marking Tchaikovsky’s own affection with considerable polish.
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