Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra
Conductor Andras Keller
Pianist Paul Lewis
Cadogan Hall, 04 December 2025
At a time when you’re lucky to get two works in a programme, this concert felt like a richly generous offering: two symphonies, a concerto, a substantial orchestral piece and topped off with two encores.
First up was Shostakovich’s ebullient ninth symphony, regarded as disrespectfully trivial when it premiered in 1945 and banned in Russia for several years from 1948. The Concerto Budapest Symphony orchestra delivered it with a nice blend of gusto and wistfulness. The brass work in the first movement was crisp and exciting and the beautifully played bassoon solo in the third movement over viola pedal note was movingly arresting.
Then it was reduced forces, a different leader and a complete change of mood for the arrival of the piano and Paul Lewis to play Beethoven’s Piano Concerto no 3. Keller gave us a creamy orchestra sound – lots of the composer’s favourite C minor – and there was mellifluous playing from Lewis especially in the first movement. The sound balance was interesting too. From the balcony I heard a second violin entry which usually passes completely unnoticed. Lewis’s expansively free cadenza was enjoyable too. There was real tenderness in the E major largo and the third movement romped home with lovely hard stick timp work. It isn’t, incidentally, until you notice one that you realise how regrettably rare it is to see a female timpanist. Bravo CBSO.
Of course there had to be a good Hungarian piece in the mix so the second half started with Liszt’s Les Preludes which presents the familiar recurrent theme in an imaginative range of guises. At its conclusion this performance achieved glorious grandiloquence with snare drum, cymbals and bass drum all giving their all.
Finally it was back to Beethoven for a pretty nippy account of his fifth symphony. The first movement, adhering, I think, to Beethoven’s metronome markings, gave us an opening as incisive as it needs to be and masses of energy. Keller is an unshowy conductor who coaxes stupendous contrasts from his players. The andante came with a lovely cello sound and witty insouciance in the shared rising arpeggios in the winds. The horns excelled in the third movement but the final allegro was mildly disappointing. No matter how many times I hear this symphony (and of course I’ve heard it hundreds of times and played in it too) the piccolo in this movement usually makes me beam in delight. On this occasion I could, however, hardly hear it which may be down to the acoustics of Cadogan Hall or perhaps Andras Keller doesn’t love its climactic contribution as much as I do.
And then, orchestra thoroughly warmed up and in party mood we got a couple of orchestral encores, the second of which was, appropriately, Brahms Hungarian Dance no 5 played with all the excitement and loving exaggeration it needs.
This concert was – pleasingly – the sort of unapologetic pot-pourri I grew up with. There was no attempt to theme the works or give the concert some waffly (silly, even) title as is now fashionable. And that is a welcome change. Thank you CBSO.
