Concert review: David Cohen (cello) London Symphony Orchestra/Antonio Pappano

There are benefits all round when an orchestra spotlights one of its players as concerto soloist – opportunity for the player, morale-boost for the orchestra members and, for the audience, the guarantee of an extra degree of effort. (Let’s not forget also the smaller burden on the orchestra’s budget.) It’s also a chance for the orchestra to shout about the calibre of its players – rightly so in the case of Belgian-born David Cohen (above), who here played Elgar’s Cello Concerto.

The sheer amplitude of his sound may have been limited – more by his instrument than anything else, so it seemed – but there was an attractive silky finish to the tone, with a natural vibrato that avoided the almost histrionic exaggeration of some performances. The scherzo buzzed along with effortless agility, contrasting with an Adagio that was impressive for its radiance, space and consolation – though entirely free of otiose sobbing. Cohen is an athletic, physical player, and in this performance demonstrated an ideal balance of intelligence and instinctive artistry.

The concerto was the centrepiece of an enticing all-English programme that opened with Vaughan Williams’s Ninth Symphony – deeply involving if sometimes a little mercilessly driven by Antonio Pappano – and Bax’s symphonic seascape Tintagel, revealed in all its cinematic colouring.

EDWARD BHESANIA