Stephen Hough and the CBSO, Symphony Hall, Birmingham Tuesday

From the archive, first published Thursday 2nd Feb 2006.

AS I write this I am still on a "high" from attending this superb concert.

The CBSO are always a pleasure to hear, and last night they opened the programme with Prokofiev's rousing Russian Overture.

The piéce de resistance of the evening, was Stephen Hough's masterful performance of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

Rachmaninov is always a winner for me, when played properly, and Mr Hough has such a wonderful touch on the piano, gentle, yet producing tremendous volume when needed, and he made the transition between the movements so smoothly.

The CBSO closed the programme with a breathtaking performance of Sibelius's Symphony no 2 in D major, opus 43, which appears to tell a story, with its varying moods and tempi.

The first movement was exhilarating, and played to perfection. I find the second movement a little "dark" for my taste, but the CBSO's performance of this was so expressive, and at times chilling.

The final movement is just glorious, the sheer volume of sound in the final stages literally "drowning" the audience in music.

I went home feeling completely uplifted after this evening of majestic music.

VJS

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