A night of truly magnificent music that will be hard to forget.

I have to confess my skepticism when I set foot in the Palau on Thursday night. I arrived with the preconceived notion that I would hear a good concert, thanks to the Tokyo Philharmonic's high, even excellent, technical level. And little else: the usual stereotype of Asian coldness.

But the first agreements of Violin Concerto Tchaikovsky's performances convinced me that technical excellence was complemented by successful musicality. The precise yet restrained gestures of a veteran like Myung-whun Chung, who conducted both parts without a score, also foreshadowed great things. And, of course, Maxim Vengerov's solo performance made me believe in the supernatural.

The Russian composer's concerto flowed with the perfect expressive contrasts the score demanded. Vengerov's virtuosity exceeded all expectations, complemented by a remarkably coherent performance. And the encore (the ever-present Bach) was simply dreamy!

The second part held the main course, which is always... The Rite of SpringOnce again, Chung's energetic yet understated and unhistrionic conducting drew from the Japanese orchestra a sound of maximum forcefulness but zero stridency. Virulent in the staccati from the rope to the Dances of the teenage girls and hallucinating at the Earth DanceThe opening phrases of the bassoon at the beginning of the ballet were a masterclass in themselves, and the performance continued flawlessly throughout all sections. Furthermore, despite the granite-like sound that Chung drew from the work, the overall interpretation possessed just the right amount of clarity to allow the infinite range of colors, timbres, contrasting and blended rhythms, and the inherent narrative of one of the most transcendent compositions of the 20th century to be heard—a composition that, one hundred and twelve years ago, was born.

The quality of the evening was rightfully met by an audience that practically filled the Palau and included many citizens of the Land of the Rising Sun. A well-justified sense of overcrowding on a night of truly magnificent music that will be hard to forget.