Respighi/Dvořák/Stravinsky: RPO/Dutoit ****
Royal Festival Hall, 29th March 2016
Charles Dutoit
© Robert Taylor
Something quite remarkable happens to the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra when Charles Dutoit stands before it. A band which can sound – and look – disengaged is suddenly transformed when its Principal Conductor galvanises it. Still remarkably spry – the RPO celebrates its 70th birthday this year, but Dutoit is nearly a decade older – the Swiss conductor maintained superb control in a globetrotting programme that whisked us from Rome’s fountains to St Petersburg’s Shrovetide Fair via Bohemia’s woods and fields, deftly adjusting the orchestral palette to suit each work.
Read the full review on Bachtrack.