Giltburg and Foster celebrate the Philharmonia’s 80th birthday with a punchy piano-fest

Philharmonia Orchestra
© Luca Migliore

Boris Giltburg (piano)

Lawrence Foster (conductor)

The Philharmonia 

7.30pm, Monday 17 November 2025

Royal Festival Hall, London

★★★★

Mussorgsky, Modest (1839-1881): A Night on the Bare Mountain (arr. Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai (1844-1908))

Prokofiev, Sergei (1891-1953): Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 26

Rachmaninov, Sergei (1873-1943): The Rock, Op. 7

                                                         Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18

Kreisler, Friedrich (1875-1962) : Alt-Wiener Tanzweizen, No. 2 Liebesleid (transcribed by Rachmaninov, Sergei)

Mussorgsky:

'(Foster) conducted with assurance and authority, and his beat was crystal clear, eliciting tight martial brass and effortlessly judged acceleration from the bassoons'.

Rachmaninov, The Rock:

'Foster ensured that all the expressive detail came to the fore here, before ratcheting up the passion for the climax'.

Prokofiev:

'Giltburg’s Prokofiev was more expressive than many readings, but without overt showy movements and a steely focus on the virtuosic detail, as well as effortlessly understated lyricism in the opening movement'. 

Rachmaninov:

'Together with Giltburg, Foster and the orchestra brought out Rachmaninov’s often underestimated orchestral writing'

Encore:

Giltburg still had something left to give, with an enchanting rendition of Rachmaninov’s arrangement of Kreisler’s Liebesleid to finish the night, much to the delight of the almost sold-out Royal Festival Hall crowd.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.