FIRST NIGHT

Concert review: LSO/Rattle at the Barbican

Some conductors play safe. Rattle is pathologically incapable of that. The LSO responded with a virtuosity that compelled open-mouthed awe
Simon Rattle, who drove the LSO hard and fast in Janacek’s Sinfonietta
Simon Rattle, who drove the LSO hard and fast in Janacek’s Sinfonietta
DOUG PETERS/PA

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★★★★★
What a difference 40 years makes. One of Simon Rattle’s earliest recordings is of Janacek’s Sinfonietta with a London orchestra (let’s not name it) audibly struggling to play the notes. Listening to it again put this London Symphony Orchestra performance into context.

It’s still a fiendishly demanding work, with twisty, nightmarish high passages for strings and woodwind, and countless tests of ensemble and tuning. Some conductors play safe. Rattle is pathologically incapable of that. He drives the fast bits very fast and revels in the strange incongruities of a piece that ostensibly presents picture-postcards of Janacek’s home town of Brno, but clearly taps into deep feelings of national pride and anger.

The LSO, far from being fazed, responded with a virtuosity and energy that