On 28 February 2009, I attended a debut concert by pianist Sergio Tiempo and conductor Vassily Sinaisky at the DFP. The programme comprised of Dvorak's Carnival Overture, Liszt's 1st Piano Concerto and Rachmaninov's Second Symphony. We have heard better renditions of the Dvorak at the DFP by orchestras like the Philadelphia on tour here. Played with livelier tempo and with greater emphasis of the syncopated rhythms by the Philadelphia, this rendition by the MPO was slightly staid in comparison.
The small-built Sergio Tiempo then emerged to play the Liszt concerto. He possess a lovely tone but the tempo set gave him some trouble articulating all the elaborate notes that Liszt penned down. As a result, there were some finger slips and some questionable ensemble with the orchestra. Nevertheless, it was an impressive debut but still fell short of the standard that Arcadi Volodos set in his magnificent debut recital a few years ago.
Sinaisky then led the MPO in a sleepy performance of the Rachmaninov 2nd Symphony. Perhaps the tempi adopted were traditionally slow and sluggish and this symphony may be over-played in the DFP Hall. Much as I love Rachmaninov's 2nd Symphony, I felt that this was another sleepy occasion and a disappointing Sinaisky debut at the DFP.
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