Nordic sounds in a great night by Mao Fujita

I confess: I arrived late and missed the four-handed Dali piece by Albert Guinovart (The Secret Life). But my companion, who arrived on time, gave me no small amount of praise.

The delay did not prevent the person writing these lines from enjoying the intense interpretation of the Grieg Concerto in A minorAnd it must be said that the intensity with which Mao Fujita handled this challenge is one that leaves a lasting impression. The Japanese pianist is a one-of-a-kind and, unlike many of his colleagues of Asian descent, plays with soul and knowledge. And this is doubly surprising considering that he is a young virtuoso who will turn a brazen 27 in November. Without a doubt, this isn't a media product at the service of large multinational music companies, but rather a responsible, serious artist with the desire and potential to achieve great things. And who, of course, displays a display of digital pyrotechnics that leaves you speechless.

The other great incentive of the evening was obviously an orchestra like the Royal Philharmonic, led by one of the finest conductors of the moment, Vasily Petrenko. The distinctive sound of the English orchestra has not lost its impetus throughout its long history, since it was founded by Thomas Beecham almost eighty years ago. It is commendable that the compact, precise, and rigorous sound that is the hallmark of the orchestra maintains such a high standard, regardless of the conductor in front of him. And Petrenko is a great musician, a splendid accomplice to Fujita in the Grieg concerto and an undisputed protagonist in Sibelius's Second Symphony, written after the famous symphonic poem. Finland, the symphony radiates a post-romanticism with strong nationalist roots and evocations of Nordic textures that are also found in some ways in its Norwegian counterpart.

The evening was imbued with the lavish and generous sound of the great orchestral evenings at the Palau de la Música. An auditorium that sometimes seems small in the face of such sonic magnificence. A concert, then, well worth the visit, despite having missed the first piece (a thousand apologies, Albert!).