A CAPACITY audience at Newcastle City Hall was treated to a heavyweight performance from the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra.

The evening with Sweden's national orchestra warmed up to the strains of Stravinsky's Jeu de Cartes.

The work, conceived for a ballet portraying a card party, was painted in blooming colours. The undoubted star of the night was the violinist Nikolia Znaider, who presented a superlative rendition of Sibelius's Violin Concerto. In a virtuoso display, Znaider drew notes into gossamer wisps, lovingly nursed melodious flights and played a scorching cadenza. And all the while, the orchestra struck a perfect balance, bolstering, but never overpowering, his efforts.

The knockout blow was delivered with Tchaikovsky's heart-wrenching final symphony. Symphony 6, otherwise known as the Pathetique, sweeps through the whole range of life's emotions and the orchestra executed it with breathtaking passion.

At one stage the music seemed to well up from the depths of oblivion, crying out in anguish, before subsiding in one last exquisitely drawn out breath. Grown men had tears in their eyes. The overwhelmed audience did not have to wait long for an encore. A brief interlude from Stenhammer's cantata Sangen provided the fresh air everyone needed before leaving. A remarkable evening.

Published: 03/02/2004