Lupo’s Ravel with Mena & the LPO steals the show from The Rite of Spring

Benedetto Lupo (© Carlo Cofano)

Juanjo Mena (conductor)

Benedetto Lupo (piano)

London Philharmonic Orchestra

Wednesday 21 February 2018

Royal Festival Hall, London

★★★★

Debussy (orch. Büsser): Printemps: Symphonic Suite

Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand

Delius: Idylle de Printemps

Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring

Juanjo Mena

Debussy: 'The final 'burst of joy' ..., with Mena almost leaping off the podium, made for a great start to the evening'.

Ravel:  (Lupo) 'balanced the virtuosic challenges, covering the full extent of the keyboard with Ravel’s skilfully lyrical writing for the piano'.

'Effortlessly natural, making this the stand out performance of the evening'.

Stravinsky: 'Mena is a joy to watch, and the final abrupt ending was truly exciting'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.