In an Olympian feat of programming, Antonio Pappano’s first few concerts as chief conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra feature works by 11 different composers over just eight days. His second concert, with celebratory helpings of Berlioz, Rachmaninov and Saint-Saëns was appropriately high on feelgood factor.
Berlioz’s Roman Carnival, a repurposed overture channelling themes from his ill-fated opera Benvenuto Cellini, played right into Pappano’s Italian heritage and operatic chops. Opening with a bang, and featuring a deliciously cantabile love theme, it ended in a veritable orgy of percussion (when it came to the cymbals, Berlioz was always a more-is-more man).
