Are two Kirills better than one? If the matchless performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No1 is anything to go by, the answer is in the affirmative!
With the BSO’s Principal Conductor Kirill Karabits completing his second season suitably attired in a national style shirt and, as a late replacement for indisposed Lukas Vondracek, pianist Kirill Gerstein together taking the Ukrainian flavour to spectacular levels.
Muscles of steel and a phenomenal technique, ace articulator Gerstein had the requisite power to coax every last decibel from the Steinway, yet was possessed of finesse in spades for the lovely central Andantino. The finale’s Ukrainian based folksong welcomed spring with volant vitality and culminated with another Russian melody in blistering bravura.
More Tchaikovsky, his Symphony No2 ‘Little Russian’, an epithet accorded to the Ukraine in times past. No punches pulled here!
The big-hearted BSO responded with every fibre to Karabits passionate, idiomatic assurance. National melodies permeated every strand, fizzing with excitement and transformed with kaleidoscopic charisma.
The gruesome story embodied in Janacek’s Rhapsody: Taras Bulba is best left aside for now. Suffice to say the performance lacked nothing in terms of tension, trauma, and terminal conflagration that initiated a blast through the BBC’s live broadcasting system.
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