BSO

Trpceski plays Tchaikovsky

Lighthouse, Poole

THE curtain came down in some style on another momentous BSO season, ahead of the orchestra's 125th birthday celebrations next weekend.

Before Wednesday night's performance, chief executive, Dougie Scarfe said it had been a "year of extraordinary, world-class music making."

Indeed it has.

Fresh from their Beethoven triumph at Amsterdam's famous Concertgebouw just three days earlier, the players under the baton of chief conductor, Kirill Karabits, delivered yet another unforgettable evening, with a little help from globally renowned pianist, Simon Trpcecki.

The concert was broadcast live on Radio Three.

There was something of party atmosphere which was only to expected.

Elgar's In the South (which has a very special association with the BSO having been recorded in 1968 by EMI in the Winter Gardens) and Walton's glorious and majestic Symphony No 1 opened and closed the evening.

But Tchaikovsky's familiar Piano Concerto No 1 was, for many in the auditorium, the undoubted highlight.

The delightfully theatrical Trpcecki, from Macedonia, stole the show, his hands a blur and seemingly doing the impossible, especially in the frenetic first movement.

The orchestra and soloist played off each together magically, as if it were an everyday occurrence.

The roar of that rolled down to the front of hall said it all.

The programme for 2018/2019 which begins in October was given a soft launch during the evening and judging by the sneak preview, it promises to a special season. But then, aren't they all?

Andy Martin