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Fiona Maddocks's rating
, Premiere for Salonen's Piano Concerto
By
Fiona Maddocks
31 Jul 2007
In the evening, the BBC Symphony-Orchestra gave the European-premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen's attractive if protracted Piano Concerto, in a programme conducted by the composer.
Gleefully motoric outer movements contrasted with a lyrical and nostalgic central section, which sang out in homage to Rachmaninov (even if a distinctly opaque programme note chastised such comparison as "slightly off-target"). The virtuosic soloist was Yefim Bronfman.
Salonen matched his own composition with Le tombeau de Couperin and excerpts from Berlioz's Romeo and Juliet.
Continuing an impressive season, the BBCSO played Ravel's delicate showpiece with style, carrying a nimble precision through to Berlioz's Queen Mab Scherzo and letting rip in the dazzling Capulet's Ball.
But this truncated offering felt dissatisfying, leaving one hungry for more. Why not the complete work?
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