Rory Macdonald has made his successful debut with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducting Wagner's Siegfried Idyll and Dvořák's Cello Concerto with Sheku Kanneh-Mason.
"[Dvorak’s Cello Concerto] was a performance shimmering with purpose; after the opening movement came a boldly lyrical adagio with its lament for Dvorak’s lost love through her favourite song Leave Me Alone, and a playful final allegro – playfulness replicatedin energetic playing from the Phil (with conductor Rory Macdonald literally bouncing on the box) which practically leapt off the screen.
[Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll] was a delicate, intimate piece of music making with plenty of starring moments for woodwind – oboist Jonathan Small and Helen Wilson on flute among them - and French horn, and with Macdonald shaping a series of burnished crescendos on the way to a radiant sunrise motif of three rising notes.”
Arts City Liverpool****1/2
You can watch the performance here On Demand from 1st June 2021 for 30 days.
