If you enjoy virtuoso orchestral playing at the highest level, I hope you were able to hear the St. Petersburg Philharmonic at the Wharton Center last night. The orchestra led by Yuri Temirkanov heated up the hall on a freezing February evening with Rachmaninoff's electrifying Symphony No. 2 and an excellent collaboration with Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang in Prokofiev's second concerto. For good measure, the group opened with a crisp Rossini Barber of Seville
Overture and concluded with the encore string-showcase, Salut d'amour by Edward Elgar. Rachmaninoff's one hour-plus 2nd Symphony is rarely heard in its entirety on the radio, but you'll be able to catch the St. Petersburg/Temirkanov recording coming up soon on WKAR...so stay tuned.