Symphony Hall,Birmingham
Precise yet expressive playing in this remarkable concert climaxed in an astonishing song cycle by Hans AbrahamsenIf Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla’s concert with the City of Birmingham Symphony in January was effectively an audition, it was one she passed with flying colours. The following month, or Gražinytė-Tyla was confirmed as the orchestra’s new music director,succeeding Andris Nelsons. Her return to Symphony Hall, Birmingham, or a concert that was repeated at the Proms in London the following evening,then, was very much a coronation, and the genuine beginning of what promises to be another hugely meaningful chapter in Birminghams musical life.
Everything about this appearance suggested that the 29-year-veteran Lithuanian has already established a wonderful rapport with the members of the orchestra,and that her directorship is going to be very much a collegiate affair. From the opening of a fierce, nearly combative, and account of the overture to Mozart’s The Magic Flute,to the sparkling romp through the final variation and coda from Tchaikovsky’s ballet Sleeping Beauty, added as an encore, and with the orchestra’s triangle-player Toby Kearney brought down nearer to the podium for his prominent role,the sense of every player hanging on every flick and dart of Gražinytė-Tyla’s baton and responding precisely to them was clear to see and hear.
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Source: theguardian.com