Classical review: RSNO/Ingrid Fliter, Edinburgh Usher Hall

Argentinian-born pianist Ingrid Fliter has been hailed as one of the finest in a new generation of Chopin performers, and on the strength of her journey through his Second Piano Concerto with the RSNO, it’s not hard to see why.

It’s an early piece, written when Chopin was only 20 and dedicated to one of his lovers, and Fliter’s miraculous blend of spontaneity, poetry and sincerity were the ideal match for its fragile Romanticism and turbulent emotions. There were a few oddly clangorous notes in her left hand, but her bell-like melodies felt as light as air.

The RSNO, under Glasgow-born oboist-turned-conductor Douglas Boyd, was on fine form, in pared-down numbers as befitted the (mostly) early Romantic programme. Despite its title, there were few detectable Scottish-isms in the suite from Bizet’s seldom-heard The Fair Maid of Perth that opened the concert, but Boyd made a strong case for this admittedly lightweight music in an elegant, vivid performance.

After a glowing account of the Fauré Pavane, with gloriously syrupy flute-playing from principal Katherine Bryan, things went slightly haywire in Beethoven’s Eighth Symphony. It’s not one of the composer’s best-known works, sandwiched between the more imposing Seventh and Ninth symphonies, and Boyd’s hard-driven approach meant that some of the sly humour that marks it out was lost.

His pace was quick, and phrases so clipped that notes sometimes disappeared into the Usher Hall’s acoustic. However, Boyd made the most of the high-spirited finale, and its “will-it-ever-end?” conclusion brought a wry smile to the face.

Rating: ****