Yet another mix & match from the MPO - this time Dukas' Sorcerer's Apprentice and Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet make their umteenth appearance at the DFP. The saving grace this time was St Saens Piano Concerto No 5 (the Egyptian) with the superb Jean Yves Thibaudet on 30 October 2010.
Stephene Deneve, a rising French conductor (who is making his reputation in the UK) made his DFP Hall debut. This was enjoyable conducting - especially in the Dukas - nothing like French conductors conducting their own music. It definitely conjured images of Mickey Mouse in the 1939 Fantasia cartoon.
The Prokofiev R&J was well played but I think a more memorable performance of this was given at a gala before Claus Peter Flor became MD of the MPO.
The star of the show this night was definitely Thibaudet, with his lovely tone and shading in all three movements. The first movement's opening was so lovely and hymn-like, whilst the exotic second movement had some fine playing. Most impressive was the last movement with its lively inter-play of pianist & orchestra and a surging coda to end it all. Thibaudet's performance this night even superceded his high standards set on his recent CD of the same piece. Bravo Jean-Yves!
No comments:
Post a Comment