Paavo Järvi/ NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo
Royal Festival Hall, 24th February 2020
After his self-imposed exile from Russia in 1918, Sergei Rachmaninov never conducted his Second Symphony. Perhaps it was too painful a reminder of home – there’s something so quintessentially Russian about it. The Second can be an hour-long nostalgic wallow and faced criticism for meandering. Indeed, until the 1970s it was usually performed with cuts that hacked it back to 45 – or even 35 – minutes. But there were no longueurs in the performance by Paavo Järvi and the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo, on the London leg of their European tour, a propulsive account, driven along urgently.
Paavo Järvi and the NHK Symphony Orchestra
© Belinda Lawley
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