This concert was pure Russian. The Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra playing Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky. No doubt this is why there was such a full audience.
Unusually for the Usher Hall, the Orchestra made a very orderly entrance to the stage moments before the highly decorated Yuri Simonov, their conductor since 1998. As they started to play some excerpts from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet he at first appeared very regimental as he took full control of his players. But a gentler side started to emerge and by the end of the concert he was thoroughly enjoying himself demonstrating that he might be 70 this year but remains remarkably sprightly.
Wearing formal white tie and tails, Yuri Simonov brought out a small watch from his waistcoat, almost in a Charlie Chaplin manner, to see if there was time for an encore or two. Naturally those too were Russian - he told us, in English, that they from Glazunov’s ballet Raymonda.
The soloist for Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto was Nikita Boriso-Glebsky who was in born in Southern Russia in 1985. His career took great leaps forward in 2010 when he won two prestigious international violin competitions. He certainly knew what he was doing with us, and the audience adored it. It is always a bit tricky when applause comes in between movements, but it was heartfelt.
After the interval we heard Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Originally written as a suite for piano it was arranged for orchestra by Ravel forty years after Mussorgsky’s death.
It will be easy to remember this visit by the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra because of their very real professionalism, not just by the way they came on stage but by their deportment and lack of fidgeting and clear devotion to the job on hand. By the end the audience was on its feet with well deserved applause.
Event: Wednesday 5 October 2011 7.30 pm