Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Part II)

The second concert given by the VPO demonstrated that they are a world class orchestra. The Symphony "Linz" of Mozart was not a work that I like, but VPO played it with elegance and I have no complain about it. The meat of the concert was on Tchaikovsky No.5 in the 2nd half. Although people might say Tchaikovsky's Symphony lack the intellectual depth (compared with Mahler or Bruckner or even Shostakovich), the orchestral sound that brought out by VPO was truly amazing. Gergiev put a great deal of rubato to the piece and there were many contrast in the tempo he took. Not only tempo, but also dynamics, colour, etc. He was good at making the climax sounded really exciting. The French horn sounded excellent in the 2nd movement. The clarinet and oboe were also very good. I enjoyed Gergiev's Tchaikovsky. His live performance was really full of sparks.

The encore pieces were a short piece from a ballet suite (I think) and two Waltzes (one long and one short). The short Waltz at the end was truly remarkable and it stirred up the emotion of the audience. This is a remarkable concert by the VPO!