Review: Philharmonia Orchestra *****

At Leeds Town Hall

From the delicacy of The Child Juliet to the agonies and pure orchestral virtuosity of the Death of Tybalt, this performance of the Suite from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet had everything you could wish for.

Since the arrival of Esa-Pekka Salonen, two years ago, the Philharmonia has taken on a new lease of life.

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Even in the Town Hall's difficult acoustic, he showed just how much importance he places on instrumental balance, the hushed passages having the most magical and subtle colours.

Yet when unleashed, the orchestra created the most cataclysmic of climactic moments, the power of strings matching the rounded brass as the sorrow poured out in Juliet's death.

Balance was equally the keynote in the immaculate support the orchestra gave to the performance of Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto, played with elegance and refinement by the Finnish pianist, Juho Pohjonen.

A beautifully shaped and unfussy account of immaculate articulation and of crystalline quality that pointed to a major emerging talent.

A suitably craggy view of Sibelius's Finlandia had set the scene for an evening to remember.