Petrenko’s searing Shostakovich overshadows Grosvenor's elegant Beethoven

Benjamin Grosvenor & the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
© Sarah Louis Bennett

Yuriy Yurchuk (baritone)
Benjamin Grosvenor (piano)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko (conductor)

7.30pm, Tuesday 3 February 2026

Royal Festival Hall, London

★★★★

Ustvolskaya, Galina (1919-2006): The Dream of Stepan Razin

Beethoven, Ludwig van (1770-1827): Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, Op. 15

Encore:

Moszkowski, Moritz (1854-1925): Quinze Études de Virtuosité, Op. 72 No. 11 in A flat major

Shostakovich, Dmitri (1906-1975): Symphony No. 10 in E minor, Op. 93

Vasily Petrenko conducts the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
© Sarah Louise Bennett

Ustvolskaya:

'(Yurchuk's) intensity of expression was impressive throughout, and Petrenko and the orchestra highlighted the score’s individuality well'.

Beethoven:

'Grosvenor's understated yet commanding performance ... was full of sprightly articulation combined with contrasting expression. Petrenko marshalled the RPO with finesse'.

Shostakovich:

'The RPO were on fire, with power and intensity combined with electric precision at pace, and faultless solo work from woodwinds and horns'.

'The Scherzo was indeed violent, with fearsome stabbing from Petrenko, and the ominously slow-moving brass against the frightened rapid chase music in the rest of the orchestra surely had more than a whiff of fleeing in terror from the tyrant'.

'Petrenko drove on through to a fantastic finish, with even the timpani bashing out that D-S-C-H motto, as if Shostakovich was finally able to say, “I will not be silenced”'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Lugansky and Petrenko inject new life into iconic Rachmaninov and Elgar

Nikolai Lugansky & the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
© Andy Paradise

Nikolai Lugansky (piano)

Vasily Petrenko (conductor)

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

7.30pm, Sunday 29 October 2023

Royal Festival Hall, London

★★★★

Lera Auerbach (b.1973): Icarus

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943): Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18

Encore -

Rachmaninov: Prelude in G sharp minor, Op.32 no.12

Edward Elgar (1857-1934): Symphony No. 1 in A flat major, Op. 55

Vasily Petrenko, Nikolai Lugansky
& the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
© Andy Paradise

Auerbach:

'Auerbach packs in the drama, opening with slapping basses and racing cellos, then propelling us through Icarus’ dramatic rise and ultimate fall'.

'... the star of the show ... was Lydia Kavina on theremin, its eery, otherworldly presence gaining increasing presence, building to its terrifying fall through several octaves'. 

Rachmaninov:

'... in the first movement his percussive projection cut through the thick orchestral textures, yet this never felt aggressive, just assuredly assertive'.

'Lugansky’s touch was particularly heartrending in the slow movement, supported by beautifully tender flute and clarinet solos'.

Vasily Petrenko conducts the RPO
© Andy Paradise

Elgar:

'... his grasp on its rich and lavish orchestration was evident right from the opening build to the noble theme’s first tutti rendition'.

'Petrenko took no prisoners with an incredibly quick second movement; the RPO ensemble was highly impressive here'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

The RPO making sense of Shostakovich: a thrilling Ninth, along with dazzling Prokofiev

Kian Soltani
© Juventino Mateo

Kian Soltani (cello)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Alexander Shelley (conductor)

Thursday 28 November, 2019

Cadogan Hall, London

★★★★





Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936): Concert Waltz No. 1 in D major, Op. 47
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953): Sinfonia Concertante in E minor (Symphony-Concerto), Op. 125
Encore:
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953): Music for Children, Op. 65 No. 10, March
Alexander Borodin (1833-1887): Prince Igor: Polvtsian Dances, No. 17
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Symphony No. 9 in E flat major, Op. 70

Alexander Shelley & the RPO
© Nick Boston

'Shelley gave well-pitched introductions, supplying some contextual detail and listening tips with an easy manner'.

Glazunov:
'Shelley and the RPO took great delight in the swirling string melodies and sweet woodwind decorations, communicating a sense of fun and delight in its simplicity'.

Prokofiev:
'Kian Soltani gave an astonishingly commanding performance of this phenomenally challenging work'.

Shostakovich:
'Shelley and the RPO were on great form here, with Shelley setting quick tempi and the RPO responding with accuracy and tight ensemble'.

'The finale was suitably thrilling'.

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Kian Soltani & the RPO
© Nick Boston

Intense Elgar from Isserlis, with the RPO woodwinds as equal stars of the show

© Satoshi Aoyagi

Thomas Dausgaard (conductor)

Steven Isserlis (cello)

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Wednesday 4 April 2018

Royal Festival Hall, London

★★★★



Britten: Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes, Op. 33a

Elgar: Cello Concerto in E minor, Op. 85

Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances, Op. 45


Britten: 'Some excellent woodwind playing here (a feature of the evening), weaving around the viola and cello theme'. 

Elgar: 'Isserlis’ Elgar was commanding, intense and passionate, and his presence and audience communication was engaging'.

Rachmaninov: '... exceptional quality of the woodwind playing throughout. With much solo work, as well as extensive ensemble passages, the entire section was as sharp as a pin tonight'.

'An intelligent and engaging reading of this somewhat underrated score'.  

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

Ravel, Roslavets and high impact Shostakovich from Volkov and the RPO

© Anton Dressler

Ilan Volkov (conductor)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Ingrid Fliter (piano)

Roslavets: 'In the Hours of the New Moon'
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
Shostakovich: Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47

Royal Festival Hall, London
Tuesday 2 February 2016

'Inspired programming from Ivan Volkov and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra'.

'A highly engaging and immediate performance'.

'Volkov achieved an incredible level of intensity throughout this tragically expressive movement'.

'A high impact and arresting performance'.

Read my full review on Backtrack here.