Yannick Nezet-Seguin and the LPO, Royal Festival Hall

Although a mere 40 years of age, conductor Yannick Nezet-Seguin (Philadelphia Orchestra) was recently voted one of the world’s top ten conductors by a panel of critics. Such acclaim makes his return to the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall an especially celebratory event.

As part of the Shakespeare at 400 season, he will conduct three pieces by Brahms and Dvorak. The latter’s Othello overture opens the concert, part of a trio that was originally conceived as a complete suite. It is a compressed burst of tragic energy, flowing through a series of character studies.

Brahms’ Double Concerto was the composer’s final work for orchestra. Scored for a violin and cello soloist, Brahms intended it to create the sense of a transcendent instrument, able to encompass the range of both parts. Apparently austere, it tests its two soloists to their limits. It is fortunate, then, that the LPO will be joined by violinist Lisa Batiashvili and cellist Maximilian Hornung, both acknowledged masters of their instruments.

The night closes with Dvorak’s Symphony No. 6, which fuses evocative Czech textures with the lushly arranged orchestration of Brahms. The wild bohemian scherzo is particularly charactersome, but the whole piece resounds with tantalizing melodies. It should be the perfect end to a delightful night.