After the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra with Yuri Temirkanov at the helm, the TSOMR conducted by Fedoseyev should be the next most famous orchestra (alongside the Russian National Orchestra and Mikhail Pletnev, and the Kirov Orchestra and Valery Gergiev). At the press conference on 31st March, maestro Fedoseyev highlighted the excellence of the Russian string musicians in his orchestra - owing to the tradition of string-teaching handed down by Auer and Stoliarsky via eminent pupils like Jascha Heifetz, David Oistrakh and Leonid Kogan. Certainly that night, the strings of the TSOMR did not disappoint the audience.

The very fact that Fedoseyev has been in charge of the TSOMR for 29 years (since 1974) says plenty for his long-term artistic commitment to the group. He is likely to emulate Herbert von Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic (34 years), and his mentor Yevgeny Mravrinsky with the Leningrad Philharmonic (about 50 years). These fruitful 29 years were borne out of his flexible beat and often "free" approach to his baton usage - and undoubtedly it did not upset the ensemble at all.

The evening opened with the Symphonic Dances, Op.45. The audience were given the chance to hear some very excellent string playing. The arrangement of the strings were as follows:- 1st violins, cellos, violas and 2nd violins (from Fedoseyev's left to right side). The double basses were positioned at the very back of the hall, behind the woodwinds and brass. Unfortunately the woodwinds were not quite so outstanding - while they generally blended well together, their tone colour was less distinctive and without the unique timbres that some of the MPO principals have. The brass players were fairly recessed in the balance as well. Fedoseyev's pacing was often quite free in his approach to timing - sometimes resulting in a slightly less unified structure in the 1st movement. The example of this was that the second subject, with the gorgeous alto saxophone solo, was paced much slower than the opening section.

The second movement was the best played in my opinion, though the varied pacing was still apparent. But because of the TSOMR and Fedoseyev's long association, the tempo changes were skillfully negotiated. Rubato usage was also skillfully applied, with the strings producing some gorgeous sounds and unified vibratos as well. The tension was slightly low-keyed until the virtuoso 3rd movement erupted. The orchestra was in fine fettle towards the end when the "Dies Irae" tunes fragment emerged out of the orchestral texture. A grand splash of sound colours and superb virtuoso playing from every department at the end of the piece brought the house down.

After the interval, the audience was treated to even more lovely music. Fedoseyev used a very large string ensemble for the Serenade. They played the introduction in a lighter-than-usual manner, the tonal contrasts were not as obvious, with Fedoseyev choosing to downplay the dynamic markings. What was lovely was the vibrato and spiccato playing of the upper strings - the spiccato had a lovely brushing quality (though the high spiccato stroke was not used). The second movement, the Waltz, had lots of lift and lilt - more fine work from Fedoseyev and his strings. The third movement, the Elegy, had the right amount of nostalgic and melancholic feeling. There was scarcely a moment to pause for breath when the fourth movement started. It was simply a bustling end to a lovely interpretation that did not seem too fast or too breathless. Just terrific!

The concert ended with the 1812-Overture Op. 49, a standard interpretation with more excellent string playing. There was much cut-and-thrust in the battle music, with much triumphant sounds in the brass and percussion coming to the fore at the final resultant coda. Rapturous applause from the audience yield two encores - both of them from Tchaikovsky, the "Panorama from Nutcracker" and the "Spanish Dance from Swan Lake". The Spanish Dance was played with much rhythmic verve and a very fast tempo, which sent the crowd home in great spirits.

Lee Cheng Hooi used to haunt CD shops globally but now does internet shopping from his PC for SARS related reasons.

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