Ogrintchouk, BBCSO, Bělohlávek, Barbican

Stravinsky, Prokofiev and even the squiggly new Dalbavie work fall flat

by Igor ToronyilalicFriday, 17 December 2010

Squiggled storyline from Laurence Sterne's 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy'

Everywhere I looked I saw children, some burying their heads in their mothers' chests, some doodling on programme notes. One was dancing to Prokofiev's Sixth Symphony. Ambitious. Last night's BBC Symphony Orchestra concert had been given over to family listening. My first thought was why? Stravinsky's fun but dry Dumbarton Oaks is hardly suitable. And Prokofiev's Sixth is psychologically X-rated when done right. Sandwiched between these two works, however, was, superficially, a perfect stocking filler: a new Oboe Concerto from accessible Spectralist Marc-André Dalbavie that sees the apotheosis of the humble squiggle.

The orchestra did a clean job but didn't seem confident enough to burn rubber with Stravinsky's impressive engine

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