Roars and whistles for this shocking stunner

Ian Stuart Hunter had a lightness of touch, with lyrical detail kept flowing.

The third movement had a wellproportioned grace and a sense for fun, and some pleasing slight additions to Mozart’s line.

But it was the second half which shocked. I had come along expecting the monumental, light absorbing C Minor of Bruckner’s Symphony No8.

However, what we heard, due to the enterprise of Oundjian, was the first performance in Scotland of Yale Professor of Music Paul Hawkshaw’s edition of the original 1887 version of the symphony.

When Bruckner presented this first version to conductor Hermann Levi, he was devastated by the criticism and incomprehension he received.

He fundamentally changed almost every bar of the work. So hearing the RSNO’s performance was like encountering a huge, startlingly new work.

What Bruckner had done was drastically prune and darken the piece. What he cut was all the extra counter themes and decoration, though the triumphant coda to the first movement went, too.

With Oundjian’s encouragement, the RSNO produced fantastic sound. There was lots more going on: lighter textures, extra themes, decorative violin lines and a generally lighter feel to the work.

The juggernaut Scherzo was largely as later, but the Trio started in a totally different way, echoing Wagner’s forest magic, only later did you hear something you recognized.

The third movement, still 29 minutes long, had greater warmth and glow – and three harps.

It ended with Bruckner with a smile on his face: warm horns, Wagner tubas and plangent strings. Movement Four began in the same way, but, almost with Siegfried’s Woodbird, had a flute solo, arabesques and a fairytale atmosphere.

Twenty-two minutes later, it ended with the most tremendous sound, bringing forth roars, whistles and immense applause from the thoroughly enthused audience in Perth Concert Hall who recalled Oundjian to the platform many times.