Classical review: RSNO

A HEAVY duty programme requires a heavy duty team. No problems in that area for the RSNO, which had the solid pairing of conductor Peter Oundjian and violinist Vadim Gluzman to make easy meat of a programme that packaged Brahms's epic Violin Concerto with Vaughan Williams's hard-hitting Symphony No 4, and Mozart's hell-raising overture to Don Giovanni.

This was Oundjian's second appearance with the RSNO, and it shouldn't be his last. He offers that rare combination of technical precision and interpretational dynamism, which is exactly what a hyper-expressive symphony like Vaughan Williams's fourth relies on.

Oundjian suggested in his preamble that its harsh language (more angry Shostakovich than pastoral VW) might have been a delayed reaction by the composer to his war experiences – a kind of self-administered release for what has become known as post traumatic stress disorder – which this pulverising performance went out of its way to prove.

It was the perfect foil to Gluzman's stately performance of the Brahms, which was both toweringly majestic and utterly mesmerising. He is an artist of the old school, with complete command of his instrument, effortless yet profound artistry, and a personality that can hold his audience rapt.

An undoubted highlight of this RSNO season.