Yet another wonderful concert programme at DFP. We were treated to a rarely performed piece - Rimsky-Korsakov's "A Fairy Tale". Usually, we always hear "Capriccio espagnole", the "Russian Easter Festival Overture" and "Scheherazade" on records and in the concert hall.
It is wonderful that guest conductor Hans Graf programmed this piece, as it educates the Malaysian public on the various other compositions of this wonderful and colourful Russian composer.
The star of the show was supposed to be the violinist, Benjamin Beilman, who performed the Dvorak Violin Concerto. This was a straight, slowish and technically secure performance from Beilman. He is only 21 years old and will mature in time. He would eventually make a larger palette of sounds, but on this showing, this student who is still in the Curtis Institute would still have much to learn about the Dvorak Concerto and violin playing.
The best performance of the evening was Stravinsky's Petrushka, played superbly by the MPO under conductor Hans Graf in the 1947 version. This was an accurate and rhythmic interpretation of the ballet - performed with precision and riotous colour and nuance of all the scenes. I believe that Graf has charisma and a good rapport with the MPO. He deserves another invitation back to the DFP in the coming seasons.
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