LPO/ Andrés Orozco-Estrada ***
Royal Festival Hall, 25th October 2017
Here’s a lethal Rachmaninov drinking game: down a finger of vodka at each quotation of the Dies irae. By the end of his Symphonic Dances, you’d be under the table. Rachmaninov had a strange fascination with the medieval chant, quoting it in works from his First Symphony up to this final orchestral composition. For last night’s programme with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrés Orozco-Estrada prefaced the Symphonic Dances with a rendition of the Gregorian Chant by the Lay Vicars of Westminster Abbey as a red-frocked reconnaissance, briefing the audience what to listen out for.
Andrés Orozco-Estrada
© Martin Sigmund
Read the full review on Bachtrack.