LPO/PAAVO BERGLUND PIETER WISPELWEY
RFH, London 16 February 2005

BEETHOVEN Overture: Leonore No. 3
ELGAR Cello Concerto in E minor
SIBELIUS Symphony 2 in D

Frail now, and moving with great difficulty, PAAVO BERGLUND retains full power and authority once sat comfortably on the podium, and the orchestra was attentive to his every gesture, responding with concentrated care to his clear visions of these canonic favourites.

There are some works which, after a lifetime longer than Berglund's, one needs to hear not too often, but I never tire of these three. Heard in a full hallfrom ideal seats in Row G of the stalls, the sound was sonorous and all embracing. A fine Leonore No. 3, perfectly managed including the off-stage trumpet; not a single cracked note from the brass all evening.

Interest was high for the launch of PIETER WISPELWEY's residency with the LPO. In my youth we persuaded ourselves that only the British could play Elgar; this Dutchman and the Finnish conductor brought scrupulous care and authority to the cello concerto, Wispelwey drawing glorious tone from his Guadagnini without as much rubato as we have been accustomed to, and totally secure in the fastest passage work in the second movement. Berglund accompanied so selflessly that he appeared to be doing nothing, but the balance and orchestral promptness were faultless.

The symphony was as splendid as one could hope, a grand Sibelius 2, spacious and displaying every permutation of its familiar motives, building inexorably to the final cadence of the finale after a quicksilver scherzo. A marvellous experience to hear it live in all its grandeur, soon after reacquainting myself with Beecham's RFH performance, which I had attended long ago in the same hall (BBC Legends).

It was a concert to make one rejoice in the survival of the endangered species - the symphony orchestra - for a little longer. It was being "recorded by the LPO" for their own label. Reviews of the concert were mixed, so there will be an opportunity to check opinions.