Philharmonia/ Rouvali ***
Royal Festival Hall, 24th January 2019
I’m not sure there is any record of Maurice Ravel ever meeting Jean Sibelius. One fears how the fastidious Frenchman might have got on with the alcoholic, cigar-puffing Finn as their tastes and music were very different. An unlikely source united the two composers in this Philharmonia programme under Santtu-Matias Rouvali – Vienna, each half opening with two very different takes on the waltz. From the giddy, implosive world of Ravel’s La Valse to the slow melancholy of Sibelius’ Valse triste, this set up a concert of great contrasts… and contrasting results.
Santtu-Matias Rouvali
© Kaapo Kamu
Read the full review on Bachtrack.