The main event in Michael Tilson Thomas's programme with the London Symphony Orchestra was a rare performance of Britten's Suite from The Prince of the Pagodas (a recent arrangement from the complete ballet by Donald Mitchell and Mervyn Cooke).
The exotic colours of this sumptuous score were dazzling in the LSO's hands. Britten simulates the sounds of a Balinese gamelan to depict Pagoda Land, using a small army of percussionists and keyboard players. The music is some of the most extrovert Britten ever wrote, and the whole suite gleamed with vivid brilliance in Tilson Thomas's performance. Yet even this sonic spectacular could not eclipse the real highlight of the programme: Leif Ove Andsnes's stunning interpretation of Schumann's Piano Concerto.
The concerto was criticised in its day both for being too symphonic, and because it was too virtuosic for the soloist. But this performance revealed the individuality of the new kind of concerto Schumann created in this work. Instead of a bravura showpiece, the music is a delicate balancing act for the pianist and the orchestra.
From the very opening, Andsnes and the LSO established a chamber music-like rapport. He shared a melody with the woodwind section as if they were all part of the same instrument, with perfectly matched phrasing.
But there was no want of virtuosity in his playing: the first movement's cadenza showed his commanding power and precision. Tilson Thomas shaped the accompaniment superbly, only letting the orchestra blossom when there was no danger of overshadowing the soloist.
The slow movement was a genuine intermezzo, a beguiling interlude before the fireworks of the finale. But even here, it was the seamless control of Andsnes's playing that was so impressive. He found a way of making Schumann's music at once heroic and lyrical, which is precisely what makes this familiar and yet unusual concert unique. This was the first of five concerts that Andsnes is giving over the next month with the LSO at the Barbican, in repertoire ranging from Rachmaninov to Lutoslawski. It was an auspicious start to the series.
