LSO/Pappano, Barbican - review

Rachmaninov's symphonic poem, inspired by Arnold Böcklin's painting, is sepulchral and full of foreboding, while the Korngold is as light as a Viennese cream puff.

The heavy drag of the Rachmaninov evokes the dark water of Böcklin's picture with its boat and coffin, while the solo instrument in the Korngold floats on an easy-going surface animated by sparkling celeste and rippling flutes.

Yet for all its sombreness, the Rachmaninov rises to impassioned heights, which is where Pappano's reading came into its own. He also provided an agreeably well-upholstered backdrop for the soloist, the accomplished Leonidas Kavakos, to unfold his lyrical line, particularly winning in the central Romance.

It is in the finale that Korngold's cinematic instincts shine through, the music's exuberant pictorialism given its head here.

Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra covers a wider emotional range than either of these scores. In the Elegia, Pappano evoked a shivery sense of mystery which built steadily into something far more angst-ridden, almost operatically so. The Intermezzo was appropriately skittish, its raspberry-blowing pointed rather than vulgar.

Bartók's score is very much an orchestral showcase and the LSO rose to the challenge with impressive virtuosity. And yet their playing did not have quite the edgy brilliance that it does under Gergiev.

What Pappano brings to the party rather is lyricism, passion and drama: attributes that Rachmaninov, Korngold and Bartók all display, to varying extents. How dull it would be if everyone sounded the same.

LSO/Pappano