Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Pablo González (conductor), Xuefei Yang (guitar)

Billed as ‘A Taste of Spain’, this well constructed programme included a short, dynamic burst from De Falla’s ‘La Vida Breve’ opera, and a contrasting lighter, airy piece from Joaquín Turina which was beautiful and bewitching. The highlight was Joaquín Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’ however, with a mix of legato and strummed guitar played superbly by the dizzyingly talented Xuefei Yang. A nice chance for pop music fans to appreciate a different style of guitar playing, and my guest was moved to tears by the stirring concerto. The crowd loved Tchaikovsky’s ‘Pathétique’ symphony, but the warm and evocative Spanish brush of the first half was more striking and memorable to this reviewer.

Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, 27 January 2014

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