Romanian Rhapsody No 1 - Enescu
Karelia Suite - Sibelius
Hungarian Rhapsody No 2 - Liszt
The Enchanted Lake - Liadov
Pictures at an Exhibition - Mussorgsky/Ravel
The National Symphony Orchestra's playing at the National Concert Hall last Friday evening was full of character. Almost everything on the programme, presented in the "Teatime Summer Sounds" series, offers temptations to go for the cheap shot. So it was encouraging and warming to hear conductor Robert Houlihan and the NSO play each piece in a distinctive and well-measured way.
In Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody No 1 and Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No 2, the many big gestures and changes of tempo were beautifully judged. Indeed, Houlihan's impeccable timing was one of the main reasons for this concert's success. The interpretative and technical demands of Ravel's orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition were well met. Even though orchestral detail had its occasional flaws, the playing was well-balanced and coloured.