Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio

at St George's Hall, Bradford, England

29th October 2010

A full roster of nearly 100 musicians packed onto the stage gave some indication
of the treat in store from one of Russia's oldest orchestras. In excerpts from
Grieg's incidental music to Peer Gynt, the sheer weight of string tone gave the
opening movement, `Morning.' Perhaps more surprisingly with such large forces,
the stormy `Return of Peer Gynt,' and conductor Terje Mikkelsen's thrillingly fast
performance of In the 'Hall of the Mountain King' were models of clarity.

Mikkelsen's masterly control of balance and texture shone through in the Sibelius
`Violin Concerto in D Minor.' The conductor deployed the full string strength only
in the tuttis, thinning the numbers down in passages with soloist Alena Baeva to
support, rather than submerge, the delicate nuances of this brilliant young
Russian violinist.

After the interval, the lush romanticism of `Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony'
brought this fine orchestra closer to home territory. Terje Mikkelsen opted for an
usual placing of string desks with the double basses lined up at the back of the
orchestra above the woodwinds. The string textures sounded as though carefully
delineated and built layer upon layer to produce the opulence - and clarity - of
sound that one could have wished for.

The ocean-depth of the nine double basses accentuated that final decisive chord
of Mikkelsen's relentlessly driven reading of the `Scherzo.' In some hands this
symphony can sound over-long and self-indulgent. Mikkelsen's setting of
dynamics and tempi propelled the epic symphony and his performance conveyed
the overt emotion of the piece without wallowing in sentimentality. The tumult of
applause from a well-filled St George's earned an encore.

Geoffrey Mogridge