Audience thrilled by rousing Russian finale

The closing concert of this year’s Perth Festival of the Arts contained magnificent music, magnificently played.

The Moscow Philharmonic is clearly a symphonic force to be reckoned with: characterful winds, a firm brass section, strong horns and strings of great depth of tone.

Opening in Perth Concert Hall with a suite from Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘Swan Lake’, the excellent oboe made an appealing start, followed by the fine bloom of the strings.

Unfortunately conductor Yuri Botnari directed a pedestrian ‘Dance of the Cygnets’ and his Act 1 waltz lacked its vertiginous swing, lumbering with extra unmarked rallentandos.

How different was the Rachmaninov ‘Piano Concerto No 3’ with soloist Freddy Kempf, winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year in 1988 and now a mature concert artist.

His was an exciting physical and emotional performance. Sometimes he had to fight against the orchestra but he was helped by the Perth Concert Hall’s excellent Steinway and the hall’s soloist-friendly acoustic.

No slouch in the technical fireworks, Freddy Kempf also brought out the work’s romantic heart. He whipped up a storm in the difficult cadenza before the first movement’s poetic end. Less attuned to the adagio, he brought out the filigree of its scherzo section with distinction.

The finale was taken at a fast tempo but with exemplary detail.

Orchestra and soloist showed their mettle in accelerating to an exciting end, much applauded by the audience.

Under Yuri Botnari the Moscow Philharmonic’s interpretation of the Ravel orchestration of Mussorgsky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’ excelled at colour and evocative insight.

The returns of the ‘Promenade’ were each distinctive.

‘The Gnome’ was grandly macabre and ‘The Old Castle’ had an expressive saxophone.

I sympathise with the unfortunate tuba player in ‘Cattle’ but the Polish ox cart still made its powerful effect.

‘Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks’ clucked with entrancing detail.

‘Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle’ was characterized by rich, imposing strings and an excellent, whiningly pathetic trumpet.

‘Catacombs’ showed off the low brass, sliding into a ghostly version of the ‘Promenade’.

‘Baba Yaga’ was a vibrant, barbaric scherzo and the roof nearly came off for ‘The Great Gate of Kiev’.

Much applause, stamping and bravos gained two encores: the Spanish dance from ‘Swan Lake’, now given with panache, and , grandly emotional with fine cello tone, the adagio intrada from the pas de deux in Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nutcracker’.