Late Arrivals

When Dima Slobodeniouk last visited Berlin around two years ago, he led the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester on a spirited tour of youthful works by Shostakovich and Prokofiev. Both of those composers remained on the programme for his recent debut concert with the Berlin Philharmonic: Baiba Skride performed the solo part in an elegant, inwardly focused performance of Shostakovich’s second Violin Concerto, while Mr Slobodeniouk proved an intuitive guide through the less-familiar terrain of Prokofiev’s infrequently-performed Second Symphony. The two Russians were joined on this evening by Sibelius, whose Tapiola provided the evening with an enchanting prologue.

The Berlin Philharmonic have been responsible for several notable recordings of Tapiola, including one under Okko Kamu and no fewer than three under Herbert von Karajan; it thus came as…