Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Southbank Centre, London – Royal Festival Hall

Gratefully avoiding the regular repertoire, this ambitious and magnetic programme (albeit a test of box-office business and also the LPO’s rehearsal schedule) was a notable success – there sounded a healthy audience in terms of numbers and each piece was well-prepared, resourcefully championed by conductor and orchestra.

Grażyna Bacewicz’s Overture to open, an active if edgy piece, anxiously quick, composed in Nazi-occupied Poland in 1943, given a rapid-fire outing from the LPO and Edward Gardner, followed by the crunching chords that open Martinů’s Violin Concerto No.2 (well-paired with Bacewicz, for she was also an orchestral violinist), similarly composed in 1943 (premiered in Boston under Koussevitzky, with Mischa Elman), the violinist thrown directly into anguished expression, here with Josef Špaček (previously a concertmaster of the Czech Philharmonic) making a bold introduction, the music grim-faced if compelling in its emotional force, occasionally tempered by a consolation that is extended into the lyrical yet intense slow movement, its yearning song eloquently communicated by Špaček, and rounded by a Finale that dances angularly if with hopeful beams of light shining through, Špaček unstinting in his commitment, appreciative of cadenzas being integral to the whole, with the LPO and Gardner vibrant partners. As an encore, Špaček, with LPO string principals, formed a quartet to charm with Dvořák’s Humoresque, from Opus 101, for piano, a familiar tune that transfers idiomatically to the violin.

Part two opened with the last of Lutosławski’s four symphonies, composed for the LA Phil, completed on August 22, 1992, its premiere conducted by the composer, Salonen then recording it with the commissioners, a single movement that is initially preparatory and becomes developmental, like the great Third Symphony, if further distilled, in length (twenty minutes) and incident, albeit with concerto-like appearances for orchestral solos and ensembles – trumpet(s), clarinet, piano, percussion, all brilliant contributions here – the music mysterious and searching, gathering itself over time for a coming-together that, however lucid, remains puzzling (for this listener at least) but in no way reflects a disappointing performance, quite the contrary, of a score that one wants to keep working at. Finally, Janáček’s Taras Bulba, after Gogol, a warring Cossack fighting for Ukraine (prophetic) against Poland, documenting his death, and also of his two sons, given a lean-sounding reading, studded with detail and deed, thrilling in the most conflicting passages, vivid drama and pacy changes persuasively inserted from Gardner, the LPO totally commanding in its every response, the conclusion uplifting and optimistic.

Bacewicz: Overture for orchestra
Martinů: Concerto No.2 for violin and orchestra

Lutosławski: Symphony No.4
Janáček: Taras Bulba – rhapsody for orchestra

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002qhpl

London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir – Edward Gardner conducts Tippett’s A Child of Our Time for the LPO’s own label.

Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra – Thomas Søndergård conducts Outi Tarkiainen’s Day Night Day and Lutosławski’s Third Symphony, with Tony Siqi Yun playing Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. Live Yle Areena webcast.

Bergen Philharmonic – Edward Gardner conducts Mahler Three. Livestream on bergenphilive.no.