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A superb afternoon concert by the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by its Principal Conducter, Santtu-Matias Rouvali, with Yefim Bronfman, piano soloist took place on December 5 at the Royal Festival Hall.
The music might be familiar but this concert was for connoisseurs as well. The overture to Semiramide is longer than the usual Rossini overture, more a tone poem really, and Rouvali judged the various episodes with alacrity. The orchestra warmed up immediately with the strings galloping forward at the start to herald the first big cymbal crash. Rouvali seemed to grasp the typical Rossinian effects well and guided his players in such a glorious manner as...