NCH, Dublin

Brahms – Piano Concerto No 2. Prokofiev – Romeo and Juliet (exc).

Barry Douglas could never be accused of lacking courage. He conducted the whole of this concert from memory; and in Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 he directed from the keyboard. Impressions both aural and visual suggested that his adventurous-ness was driven primarily by a desire to encourage close listening from the players and immediate communication between orchestra and conductor.

Such risks as this entailed did not succeed consistently, for the first movement of the Brahms included some ragged ensemble. But by the second movement the performance was well into a satisfying stride.

The playing, from Douglas on the piano and from the members of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, was shapely and responsive.

Overall, the performance had a muscular kind of classicism – phrasing was clear, nothing was milked for effect, and clarity of discourse was a priority. Although the third movement was faster than most performances I have heard, it gave space enough for the famous cello melody, nicely played by Martin Johnson, to achieve its magical effect.

The second half consisted of excerpts from the first and second of the three orchestral suites that Prokofiev created from his ballet Romeo and Juliet. Written in the late 1930s, this music epitomises the vigorous, communicative neo-classicism that made his music acceptable to the Stalinist regime.

Nevertheless, the playing was always dramatically purposeful; and though one missed the subtle contrasts created by Prokovief’s choices in assembling the suites, the strong characterisation of each movement made this a thoroughly engaging experience.