Last updated 05:14, Friday, 28 November 2008

Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, The Sands Centre, CarlisleSat atop The Sands Centre stage, bathed in pale yellow light before a silent audience, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra enthralled those lucky enough to be present with a performance of flawless elegance.

Beneath the waving baton of new Russian musical director Vasily Petrenko, the orchestra began with Beethoven’s spirited Coriolan Overture, providing a polite, lively start to this highly-anticipated performance.

The reason for this feeling of anticipation was the presence of pianist Paul Lewis, one of the most sought-after musicians of his generation. Billed as the highlight of the night, he joined the orchestra for Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.1. His absorbing performance of the original cadenza was fantastic and the subject of much excited discussion during the mid-session interval.

A beautiful rendition of Braham’s majestic Fourth Symphony delighted the audience for the second half of the programme. Described before the concert by principal oboist Jonathan Small as ‘demanding and difficult to do’, it was performed almost effortlessly, the mighty last movement passacaglia drawing the programme to a fantastic climax.

Eric Wright, of Friends of Classical Music at the Sands, described the performance as excellent and in particular singled out Paul Lewis as brilliant.

At the end of this startlingly beautiful evening, with musical moments ranging from the heart-skippingly powerful to those surreally soft, the musicians of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra left the stage to well-deserved rapturous applause, in which I stamped and clapped as loud as everybody else.

STEPHEN GRAHAM