Concert will linger in the memory

A JAM-packed St Chad's welcomed Martin Binks to the LSO's podium for a typically massive programme. Wagner's thrilling Ride of the Valkyries was shorn of its operatic trappings and made a thrilling opener to the concert. The Orchestra strings then "cleansed" the ear of dense orchestral textures with a pellucidly clear and intense performance of Samuel Barber's famous Adagio.

Saint-Saens' symphonic poem La Jeunesse d'Hercule (the Journey of Hercules) might never be included in a UK concert programme but for Martin Binks' life-long advocacy of the highways and byways of French orchestral music. The twenty minutes-long piece was meticulously prepared and lovingly performed; it epitomised the high standards of playing across all sections. These standards scaled new heights of excellence with the LSO's realisation of the post-Wagnerian grandeur of Richard Strauss's autobiographical tone poem Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life). Additional woodwind, brass, strings and harps increased the orchestra strength to well over a hundred musicians.

Binks' deeply perceptive reading revealed his mastery of the architecture of this lavishly scored work.

His setting of tempi and dynamics could not be faulted; the meticulous balance of Strauss's lush orchestral textures revealed the inner details. David Tan's impassioned solo violin soared above the sumptuous string tone and piquant woodwind. Resplendent brass fanfares ushered in the apocalyptic Battle Scene depicting the Hero's "adversaries" - nothing more than sniping music critics! A deeply moving and, at times, an overwhelming performance that will linger in the memory.

by Geoffrey Mogridge