Thomas Dausgaard conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Royal Festival Hall on Tuesday May 3rd, with Georgian virtuoso soloist Khatia Buniatishvili giving an individual interpretation of Schumann’s Piano Concerto.
Antony Hodgson of Classical Source said of the concert, “Thomas Dausgaard began with a gripping performance of Sibelius’s Seventh Symphony. The conductor’s passionate commitment to this music was at once evident… Dausgaard’s way of unfolding this beautiful yet disturbing passage was to imbue it with extreme tension.”
Hodgson said of the Piano Concerto, “Buniatshvili’s reading of Schumann’s Piano Concerto is highly individual… Virtuosic passages were thrown off with astonishing skill and Dausgaard achieved unity with her, enabling the music to sweep excitingly forward.”
Finally, of Tchaikovsky’s Fourth, “The opening had enormous power and Dausgaard’s conducting was of great urgency… Dausgaard was elegant in the Andantino and the change to the march-like central section was approached by the use of a long accelerando – a very convincing approach. In the context of this colourful version, such rousing, thunderous, furious determination was absolutely appropriate.”
The full concert is available to listen to on BBC iPlayer for 30 days after the concert – click here to listen.