REVIEW: Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra: Rococo and Revolution at Portsmouth Guildhall

A recent April Fool's Day prank attempted to convince us that one of music's great mysteries had been solved.
Johannes Moser of Bournemouth Symphony OrchestraJohannes Moser of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
Johannes Moser of Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Nice try, Classic FM, but few were taken in by the fake news that ‘missing’ sections of Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony had been discovered.

There have been various attempts over the years to transform the two existing movements of Schubert’s masterful Symphony No8 in B Minor into the four expected. But none has endured.

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Under the energising baton of Kirill Karabits, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra convincingly showed the musical completeness of the Allegro and Andante. Who could ask for more?

Schubert’s glimpse of the future sat well with Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations in which he harks back to Mozart in homage.

The variations were performed in the original version with eloquence and stunning virtuosity by cellist Johannes Moser. This work is close to his heart. In fact, his interpretation won him the 2002 Tchaikovsky Competition.

Moser gave us a tenderly evocative Tchaikovsky Nocturne as an encore too.

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The BSO is a superlative orchestra and their prowess came into force for another of the great romantic works in the concert’s second half - Mendelssohn’s Reformation Symphony – completing the evening with a life-affirming flourish.