MAHLER SYMPHONY no. 6
BBC Symphony Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall *****
Last night's BBC Prom performance of the world's second greatest symphony was a brilliant broadcast, even over my tiny desktop smartspeaker.
Sakari Oramo paced proceedings perfectly, finding moments of tenderness, sometimes underlined by the slightest of pauses in the shaping of phrases, amid the driven sense of portent, everything leading to the grim, ultimately shattering cataclysm of the 30-minute finale. Naturally he placed the inner movements in the correct order, the pounding venom of the scherzo succeeding the relentless opening movement, the third movement's solace temporary balm after the onslaught recommences in the finale.
Orchestral playing was inspired, string solos eloquent and touching.
This was the Proms at their best. No floundering here, reaching out to nebulous audiences in a desperate attempt to appear relevant. The Proms' relevance is to a classical audience, and they are the ones who will always return, not just rock up for a gimmicky one-off.
Christopher Morley