Ning Feng & the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at the National Concert Hall, Wednesday 17th September

With a programme of music that spans three centuries, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra gets this season’s International Concert Series off to an eclectic start – from the drama of Wagner to the lighthearted theatrics of Stewart Copeland’s percussion concerto, having its Irish premiere tonight.

Displaying a clear and balanced approach right from the opening work, Wagner’s Tannhäuser Overture, conductor Vasily Petrenko brings a sensitive, dynamic control to the performance. From the sweet timbre of the cellos’ opening figures to the warmth of the brass, the orchestra’s sound is controlled, deliberate, but never anything less than fully engaging.

Following the controlled grandeur of Wagner, Glazunov’s Violin Concerto is an extravagant display of bravura pyrotechnics. Soloist Ning Feng, after a rather cold, though technically assured start, gradually warms to his performance. His exchanges with the orchestra are energetic. Though the work is a test of the violinist’s skill, it is in the lyrical second movement that his playing comes to life, with the full tone of the instrument given expression.

Arrayed across the back of the stage, with their bright green shirts marking them out, the four percussionists featured in Stewart Copeland’s Poltroons in Paradise are kept busy from the start of the piece. Copeland’s work is lively, a riot of ideas, with everything from marimba to triangle solo. His past work of film and T.V. scores is clear, as each new idea succeeds the last, suggesting a quick succession of disconnected scenes. As the piece goes on though, a bigger picture begins to emerge. The orchestra and percussion trade ideas, and the whole starts to come together.

Scriabin’s Rêverie, after the bombast of the preceding works, is a slight thing. Though well-played, any subtlety that it may possess is lost tonight – it seems to belong to a different programme. As if to prove the point, the final work of the evening is Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italien – a mad dash through six short songs, announced with fanfare from the brass. Relentless in energy, even the more mournful sounds of the solo oboe doesn’t serve to slow things down. As it has all evening, the orchestra maintains a clarity of sound through the most exuberant of sections. That they finished with a smile is unsurprising – though it may not be the most serious piece of music, it sure is fun.

Programme

Wagner: Tannhäuser Overture & Venusberg Music

Glazunov: Violin Concerto in A minor, Op. 82

Stewart Copeland: Poltroons in Paradise

Scriabin: Rêverie, Op. 24

Tchaikovsky: Capriccio Italien, Op. 45