Wonderful RSNO performance was an evening of total delight

Review: garry Fraser

Two works at 50 minutes each might sound a daunting prospect, and they could be if in the hands of unaccomplished musicians.

However, in the hands of world class performers the RSNO – conductor Thomas Sondergard and pianist Sunwook Kim – they are a total delight.

Such was their proficiency on Thursday night in the Caird Hall, Dundee, the time passed within the blinking of an eye.

It was an evening of all-round excellence.

I can’t remember the last time I heard a live performance of Brahms’ second piano concerto but I’m willing to bet it didn’t reach the stellar heights that Sunwook Kim reached.

This man has a whole array of musical armaments at his disposal – skill, tenderness, amazing virtuosity and a quite formidable technique.

Highlight of this concerto is, for me, the third movement with its delightful piano and cello exchanges. It’s a movement full of passion and needs some levity to bring one down off cloud nine.

This, through the excellent offices of soloist, conductor and orchestra, was done in the final movement. Not light-hearted in any way, but certainly the chalk to the third movement’s cheese.

There’s something about Richard Strauss’ tone poems that excite me. Is it simply their scale or is it his ability to paint a picture through a deft palette of musical colour? Probably both, so his epic Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) is right up my street.

In the six movements, played without a break, he conjures up a myriad of contrasting sound with Sondergard and the RSNO exploiting every nuance.

It really was wonderful in every sense of the word.

I was expecting a fantastic performance of this brilliant work, but I got more than I bargained for.