Interact & Reviews / Reviews

Paul, Manchester
You run out of words to describe Murray Perahia's pianism. He has an assured stage presence and confidence about his playing without being showy. It's not his style which I think attracts more admiration from concert goers. The sound he produces is more important than any on stage gestures that some may be more akin to. His delicate touch is perfect for Mozart's music and this performance was astounding not least because of his own cadenza, which is the first time I have heard it, which blended in so well with the rest of the concerto. His collaboration with Haitink is legendary. I would very much like to see them record some Mozart together, this one would be a great start.

Jack Morris
I'm not a great concert-goer, nor do I know much about music, but I was taken by a friend to this one, and I have to say it blew my mind. The comparison between the amazingly delicate playing of the piano concerto by a guy I'd never even heard of, and the full blast of a 100 or whatever-piece orchestra rattling out a truly awesome symphony by someone I hadn't previously given the time of day for, was pretty spellbinding stuff. Call me a convert.

Peter Ludbrook
A wonderful concert. It was great to hear Murray Perahia in the Mozart. He's a pianist I much admire but have rarely seen. As ever, Haitink was a sensitive accompanist. The Shostakovich 4 was terrific. I've long admired Haitink's grip on musical architecture (witness his superb Bruckner) and his grasp of this strange yet compelling work was superb. The orchestral playing was of a very high order. I see that some critics thought that the brass were too much! In a work like this there is no point in being reticent. I thought the playing was heroic and I don't think I've ever heard the devastatingly tragic ending of the symphony done so well. That's the last Prom I'll be attending this year and it was a great concert to go out on. All in all it's been a very satisfying season with plenty of memorable moments to savour whilst I await the arrival of next year's Prom Prospectus.

Oliver White
The quality of the performance the previous night carried over to this Prom, which featured an equally daunting symphony. Shostakovich's Fourth fully captures the oppressive, stifling and violent atmosphere of the years during the height of Stalin's purges (at its most obvious in the vicious string fugue and the psycopathic march that caps it in the first movement), while also managing to satirize the bombast required of Soviet artists by the regime (the vacuous banality of the allegro that follows the funeral march in the third movement). The final coda is one of the most extraordinary passages of music I've ever heard: the restful but somewhat sinister melody of the strings accompanied by the throbbing pulse in the lower strings and timpani, and ultimately the gentle chimes of the celeste, gives an unparalleled impression of the mysterious and the infinite, particularly when juxtaposed with all the earth-bound cacophony that precedes it. Haitink and the CSO wringed the score for all it was worth; the intensity and drama did not abate for a moment.

Mozart's 24th Piano Concerto made an excellent starter; I have always been a fan of the Perahia/Haitink team. Murray Perahia's playing was crystalline, and he was given great accompaniment by the woodwinds in the sublime slow movement. Hopefully we won't have to wait another two decades before he makes his next appearance at the Proms!

Jakub, London
Fantastic concert, delighted I went - DDS4 is a riot, and what better brass section can you hope for to perform it? The one major problem which the BBC Proms organisers ought to correct for next year is regarding the mobile phone announcements - right towards the end of the stunning first movement of the symphony, during a very quiet passage, a very loud mobile phone ring went off, somewhere quite near the stage on the left. It really was terrible timing. The point is that the announcement to turn phones off is made before the concert, but not repeated after the interval. Obviously most people turn on their phones again during the interval, and clearly some forget to turn it off again. I've noticed the RFH does this, and it's a good idea. Thanks again for the otherwise superb concert.

Jonathan Richards
Anyone who knew Shostakovich 5 but not this symphony will have learned a great deal about this compelling composer. The CSO percussion were superb, also the E flat clarinet, often called the "pig whistle".