Rustioni leads orchestra as it performs a trio of greats
The Ulster Orchestra, under the baton of the distinguished young conductor Daniele Rustioni, continued its successful 2018-19 season with music by Busoni, Mozart and Schubert in a well-filled Ulster Hall.
The overture Lustspiel by Ferruccio Busoni set the tone for the evening with its exuberant tunefulness, but the centre piece was Mozart's Violin Concerto No 3, played by the highly talented Francesca Dego, who happens to be the partner of Daniele Rustioni. Their joint interpretation captured the essence of yet another Mozart masterpiece, with the soloist giving a most sensitive performance of the blissful Adagio, which is one of those classical pieces most people recognize, but are sometimes not sure where it comes from.
The second half was taken up by Schubert's Ninth Symphony, known as "The Great"...Under the direction of Rustioni, this was a stately and measured performance of this truly "great" symphony, which finally burst into life in the finale.
Schubert was never a composer to waste a good tune and he repeated the main theme all the way to its triumphant climax, to sustained and deserved applause.
The Ulster Orchestra is looking for a new principal conductor, and Maestro Rustioni, on his third visit to Belfast, has certainly made his mark.
Alf McCreary, Belfast Telegraph