Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
Vasily Petrenko's Mahler cycle with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic has reached the Seventh Symphony, a work which, not so long ago, was considered imperfect by many. Petrenko is the latest in a growing number of conductors to find wonder and coherence in it. A dark, idiosyncratic, though utterly compelling interpretation, this ranks among both his and the RLPO's finest achievements.
The symphony benefits hugely from his brooding, rather aggressive approach to Mahler. The opening chords, inspired by the rhythm of oars striking water, have rarely sounded as penumbral or as oppressive as they did here. The rampaging finale, meanwhile, taken at an alarming lick, aspired to a coarse, simplistic joy after the complex nightmare that preceded it.
Much of it had the slightly hyper-real quality of hallucination, which was due, in part, to the tremendous vividness of the playing; all slithery woodwind, glutinous string portamentos and sinister muted brass. But Petrenko's awareness of the need for detailed shifts in mood and contrast was also spellbinding, and the nocturnes at the work's core were restrained yet relentless, eerily graceful and, in the serenade above all, weirdly and disturbingly erotic.
It was preceded by an equally wonderful performance of Mozart's Fourth Violin Concerto, with Alina Ibragimova as soloist. A poised, aristocratic performer, she has a breathtaking ability to think in terms of span as well as detail, so that every movement seemed at once immaculately controlled yet perfectly natural.
Petrenko's conducting, meanwhile, was all sly grace and passion – nobly intense in the andante, witty and sophisticated in the closing rondeau; where the posh collides with the demotic, and the downbeat ending still manages to take you by surprise.