Philharmonia/Blomstedt review – flow and glow as one one of wonders of our age remains in control

Royal Festival Hall, London
In Mozart, Maria João Pires was an ideal partner for Blomstedt’s attentiveness to pulse, phrasing and dynamics; his unified and unshowy approach brought lightness and clarity to Bruckner

Even popes retire these days but, like the Queen, Herbert Blomstedt just goes on and on. The Swedish-American conductor is 94 now, and the joints are visibly stiffer than they were as he enters and leaves the stage, but Blomstedt remains amazingly spry. His control of the Philharmonia Orchestra – using his hands, not a baton – was beyond question, and he conducted the entire evening without once sitting down.

The music-making of elderly conductors can sometimes be either lofty or slow, sometimes both. Neither quality applies to Blomstedt. As with the late Bernard Haitink, his conducting in old age radiates both flow and glow. Blomstedt does not force or underline the music, he releases it. But the attentiveness to pulse, phrasing and dynamics are unflagging. There is something to learn from his handling of every transition in the score.

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