National Concert Hall
Prince Igor Overture - Borodin Violin Concerto - Tchaikovsky Dance of the Tumblers (The Snow Maiden)< LIRimsky-Korsakov Adagio (Spartacus) - Khachaturian Gopak (Sorochinsky Fair) - Mussorgsky Romance (The Gadfly) - Shostakovich Gayaneh Suite (exc.) - Khachaturian
`Russian Favourites" was the title of the programme presented by the RTE Concert Orchestra, last Wednesday night at the National Concert Hall. The heavyweight music came before the interval; but the most well-rounded music-making came afterwards.
Not that the first half was without impressive aspects. Cora Venus Lunny was a remarkably assured soloist in Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto. Her security, panache and winning presence ensured a warm response at the end of one of the most demanding of 19th-century concertos. However, doing justice to this music requires additional qualities. It requires touches of rhythmic poise, a wider range of colour, and more finesse with detail - all held together by a long-range view of where the music is heading.
The demands of the music in the second half were of a more straightforward kind. The "Dance of the Tumblers" from Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Snow Maiden and the "Sabre Dance" from Khachaturian's Gayaneh Suite need verve and tight discipline if they are to make their best impact. Shostakovich's Romance from The Gadfly and the famous Adagio from Khachaturian's ballet Spartacus call for a caressing way with melody and sumptuous orchestral sound. On the whole, the RTECO and conductor Proinnsias O Duinn captured the essential qualities of this music.
