Kirill Karabits / Reviews

After the long, drawn chords serving as a series of question marks, I adored Karabits and the BSO in the First. The Allegro con brio of the opening movement had real zing – clean, lean and urgent – and the Haydnesque wit of the finale was a joy, Karabits, conducting without a baton but with a huge smile. Their Third Symphony was extremely satisfying, with a very moving Marcia funebre. After the thrills and spills of the bloodsport which is natural horn playing in the OAE’s Eroica, it was sobering to realise that even with the safety net of valved horns (and a bumper), there were still spillages in the Scherzo’s Trio section.