Ashkenazy's superb Sibelius, delectable Dvorak

Living legend Vladimir Ashkenazy's return visit to the DFP was to conduct the MPO and the winner of the HK Piano Competition in a piano concerto here on 31 Oct and 1 Nov. However, the street protests in HK put paid the HK competition as well as the piano concerto performance on the MPO's programme on those days. Happily, maestro Ashkenazy is such a versatile musician that he could conduct three favourite Sibelius orchestral pieces (Finlandia, The Swan of Tuonela and the Karelia Suite) as the first half programme replacement. Ashkenazy took the opening section of Finlandia a touch faster than usual and therefore it lost its brooding and sombre mood. The faster second section was well-played and the Finlandia Hymn was suitably and radiantly presented. The Swan of Tuonela was evocatively played by our MPO cor anglais soloist Denis Simonnet over a bed of shimmering MPO upper tremolo and muted strings. The Karelia Suite was also beautifully played, with a festive tone to the opening Intermezzo movement. The second movement again featured more lovely playing from Denis Simonnet on his reedy cor anglais. The last movement was suitably grand.

After the interval, we heard the Dvorak Symphony No 8 in G major Op 88. Ashkenazy being a previous chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, readily imparted Czech traits into the MPO's interpretation. The first movement's tempi were quite fast and taut (unlike a recent Manfred Honeck SACD version on Reference Recordings). A standout feature of this movement was the glorious flute solos of principal Hristo Dobrinov. The second movement featured a songful ease and an exquisitely played violin solo from MPO concertmaster Peter Danis. The third movement was graceful and played with abundant charm and lilt coupled with lovely touches of portamento from the violins. The fourth movement opened with a glorious rich cello section solo led by Csaba Koros. Rousing brass fanfares brought the symphony to its grand conclusion. Ashkenazy was given a rousing ovation by the KL audience and obliged the crowd with yet another piece by Dvorak - a Slavonic Dance in E minor, No 2 from his Op 72 set.