Incredible experience at Dům hudby’s Suk Hall (review)

PRSO visits regional town after 16 years

An attractive programme meant that the Suk Hall at the Dům hudby was completely sold out well in advance. The stage was also packed, as the large Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (PRSO) performed in its full formation at a concert reminding the Pardubice audience of the 90th anniversary of the launch of regular radio broadcasts in the then Czechoslovakia. The concert opened somewhat symbolically with Maurice Ravel’s Bolero; the quarter-hour piece, which fascinates thanks to its constantly repeating 18-bar theme supported by a snare drum, left none present in any doubt as to the qualities of the visiting orchestra and the perfect professionalism of all of its players. Conductor Ondrej Lenárd controlled everything with the lightest of touches…

Thunderous applause rang out from the very start, intensifying further and culminating with a standing ovation after Jan Simon’s performance of Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto in B minor op. 23. The likable soloist’s brilliant, flawless rendition of one of the most famous and frequently played of romantic opuses literally had the audience glued to their seats.

However, the evening also had a third peak. After the interval, it was time for Mussogorsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, with instrumentation by Ravel.

It would not be at all accurate to write that the orchestra gradually reached its maximum power. It was at that level for the whole two hours! Sincere thanks to the organisers, and of course to the performers, for delivering a genuinely high-quality, even unbelievable experience.