Music: RLPO, Petrenko, Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool

Jan 10 2008 by Glyn Mon Hughes, Liverpool Daily Post

NOBODY can now claim they don’t know Liverpool’s party is well under way.

There’s been plenty of talk about Capital of Culture, not least in the hallowed portals of the Philharmonic Hall, but now it’s here, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic is not holding back.

The latest concert in the Classic FM series, Shall We Dance? had feet tapping.

Ravel’s dream-like La Valse started the concert after a perfectly formed appetiser in the shape of Ian Stephens’ fanfare The World in One City. This two- minute curtain-raiser never loses its sheer exuberance and verve.

But the RLPO, under Vasily Petrenko, gave a gutsy performance of the Ravel. Often, it feels as though one is watching events outside the great windows of a grand palace, peering in through the fog., experiencing a few gauzy moments. This was different: exhilarating, exciting, fortissimo almost all the way and scurrying to a breathless conclusion.

The same was true of the performance of Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances, from West Side Story. In some ways, this is an odd piece which has one foot firmly on Broadway, the other somewhere on the stage belonging to a symphony orchestra. Nevertheless, this was A slick performance, often exuberant, sometimes introspective, the huge orchestra came together for a blinding finale.

In the middle? Two concertos, performed by violinist Ilya Gringolts, making his first return to Liverpool since 1990. Prokofiev’s Second Violin Concerto in G minor was gentle and soul-searching. "That" tune at the outset was gloriously understated and turned into a delightful chat between soloist and rather muted orchestra. The same could be said of the slow meditation of the second movement, a latter-day Song Without Words.

The finale felt like a rather understated dance which longed to forget itself and get full of life. Korngold’s D major Concerto never really left the cinema. It’s perfectly approachable and Gringolts’ performance was superb. But the first movement could easily accompany a black and white tear jerker. while Tom and Jerry were probably hiding offstage, ready to make an appearance in the finale.

A virtuoso performance and some dazzling orchestration, where the percussion worked particularly hard. But hardly a memorable work.

Repeated tonight at 7.30pm.