I Witnessed a thrilling account of the Fifth Symphony last night at
London's Barbican given by the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by
Sir Andrew Davis. This was the live performance I've been waiting to
hear of this work for the past 20 years. I've witnessed a few 'near
misses' in that time - Previn with the LSO in the mid-80s and
Tilson-Thomas also with the LSO in the early 90s immediately spring to
mind - but last night's performance hit the Bull's Eye. It very much
resembled Maazel and the Cleveland's recording of the work in respect
to tempi and dramatic emphasis - all the climaxes were finely judged
and the first and fourth movement codas were truly devastating. Also,
as one has come to expect with the LSO, both the ensemble and solo
playing was of the highest standard. I had only seen Sir Andrew
Davis conduct before on TV, usually at the Last Night of the Proms,
and I wasn't aware of any particular affinity for Prokofiev's music.
But on the evidence of last night I'd say he has to be a
'Prokofievian' down to his boot laces.