FINNISH maestro Olli Mustonen displayed his formidable talents as a pianist as well as conductor when he appeared with Royal Northern Sinfonia, at Sage Gateshead.

The opening bars of Sibelius’ Incidental music to Pélleas and Mélisande were laden with the promise of the drama to come, with Mustonen shaping an account that oozed character.

The central role of the ill-fated Melisande is taken by the cor anglais, which was played with warm affection by Steven Hudson, while the Pastorale featured chirpy summer birdsong from the woodwinds.

 

The motion of the Melisande’s spinning wheel was brilliantly conjured up, while her last mournful sighs seemed to linger forever.

Mustonen then took to the ivories, joined by RNS trumpeter Richard Martin in Shostakovich’s Concerto for Piano and Trumpet and Strings.

Martin, who first played the work with the RNS 24 years ago, still regards it his favourite. And it showed in a dazzling display, with thrilling rapid fire passages and meliflously delivered melodies.

Mustonen played with incisive wit, his passages intermingling brilliantly with the strings. Martin and Mustonen egged each other on to greater heights in a swirling dance - brought to a climactic ending.

The concert took the RNS to the half point in its Beethoven Symphony, with the First. Perhaps not Beethoven’s most groundbreaking it nonetheless would have astounded audiences of the day. Mustonen invested it with invigorating freshness, negotiating the twists and turns with relish. Those who remained for the post-concert spotlight were, as ever, in for a treat.

Violinists Jonathan Martindale and Jenny Chang gave a rare outing to Miklos Rosza’s Sonata for Two Violins. Their playing was seamlessly married in the slow movement, while they proved a perfect match in thrilling outer movements.

Gavin Engelbrecht