Representing the rare (or at least relatively so) was Saint-Saëns’ Phaéton, a tone poem describing the Greek myth of the fall of the sun god’s over-confident son. It was full of vivid story telling in which the BSO revelled.
Certainly rich was Cédric Tiberghien’s passionate and lyrical performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No 1. His playing, recently described as “truly magisterial” at a London recital, had a vivid immediacy and respectful musicality, exploring the detail of this complex score. The whole orchestra evidently enjoyed the ride, especially the allegro last movement which swept everyone along with its excitement until the barnstorming conclusion raised a mighty cheer from the Lighthouse audience. A contrasting encore by Bach was marked by precise articulation and control.
After the interval, Lili Boulanger’s D’un matin de printemps painted a totally convincing picture of spring arriving in the countryside – emphasising what a tragic loss to the musical world was her death in 1918 at the age of just 24. Ms Van Soeterstède proved a telling advocate for this beautiful music, which was much admired in the hall. We look forward to further works from this composer and conductor in future seasons.
To conclude, the choice of Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No 3, the Organ Symphony, illustrated the power of French music in terms of brilliant orchestration as well as original symphonic structures. Ms Van Soeterstède, regularly noted for the charm, subtlety and elegance of her conducting, brought out the French sophistication and breathless drama of the music, making total sense of Saint-Saëns’ two movement plan. The BSO’s playing captured all the seriousness and ultimately melodic exuberance of this magnificent symphony. There was grandeur, there was pathos, and the whole thing wrapped up a memorable evening.
BSO Patron Tom Wickson
You can catch up on this concert here until 23 May.