ALISON CROOSE King's Lynn Corn Exchange

ALISON CROOSE

> King's Lynn Corn Exchange

A young soloist must experience extra pressure when performing a high-profile concerto forever associated with a predecessor as renowned as Jacqueline du Pré.

But 25-year-old cellist Richard Harwood showed no sign of apprehension and delivered the Elgar favourite with great aplomb.

Knowing that he played the work when he made his BBC Radio 3 debut at the age of 13, it was no surprise that he gave a splendid virtuoso performance.

As usual, the NSO programmes its concerts to provide plenty of interest and contrast, and this was no exception. After the melancholy of the cello concerto, the audience was thrust into the hurly-burly of Bruckner's Fourth Symphony, The Romantic.

Conductor James Stobart harnessed the orchestra's power to interpret the complexities of Bruckner's marathon work. The musicians – especially in the woodwind section and the horns – coped well with the demands of the symphony which must have left them, as well as the audience, tired but happy.